SOUVENIR    COPY 


Education  of  Business  Men 


I.  II.  III. 


ALSO 


^™'  Eincation  of  Bnsiness  Men  in  Enrope 


BY  THE 


American  Bankers'  Association 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 


Giff  U.C.  LiLr^ry 


'OlAAj^SL^ 


EDUCATION  OF  BUSINESS  MEN. -I  and  II 


AN     ADDRESS 

BEFORE  THE  CONVENTION  OF  THE 

American  Bankers'  Association 

AT  SARATOGA,  SEPTEMBER  3,  1890, 

Wharton  School  oy  Finance  and  Economy  of  the  University  o/  Fennsylvania, 
WITH    PLAN    OF   FOUNDER,    AND   CURRICULUM. 


PROCKEDIKQS 

OF  THE  AMERICAN  BANKERS' ASSOCIATION  RELATIVE  TO  THE  ADDRESS  OF  PROFESSOR 

JAMES,  AND  UPON  THE  FOUNDING  OF  SCHOOLS  OF  FINANCE 

AND  ECONOMY,  SEPTEMCER,  1890. 


REPORT 

OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  SCHOOLS  OF  FINANCE  AND  ECONOMY  TO  THE  CONVENTION  OF 
THE  AMERICAN  BANKERS'  ASSOCIATION,  AT  NEW  ORLEANS,  NOVEMBER  12,  1891. 


LETTERS 

AND  EXTRACTS  OF  LETTERS  FROM  BANKERS  AND  EDUCATORS,  UPON  THE  EXTENSION 

OF  THE  WHARTON  SCHOOL  IDEA  IN  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF 

SCHOOLS   OF   FINANCE  AND   ECONOMY. 


EXANIIMATIOM 

INTO  SCHOOLS  OF  FINANCE  AND    ECONOMY  IN    EUROPE,  TO  BE  MADE  BY  PROFESSOR 

JAMES,    AND   REPORTED   TO  THE  AMERICAN    BANKERS'  ASSOCIATION  AT   ITS 

CONVENTION  IN    SAN    FRANCISCO.  SEPTEMBER  7   AND   8,   1892. 


PUBLISHED    BY 

AMERICAN    BANKERS'    ASSOCIATION, 

r^iOW     YOKIC. 

1S92. 


COiMiVlITTEK 

On  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy 

OF 

EXECUTIVE   COUNCIL, 

AMERICAN  bankers'  ASSOCIATION 


William  H.  Rhawn,  Chairman^ 
President,  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  Philadelphia. 

George  S.  Coe, 
President,  American  Exchange  National  Bank,  New  York. 

Lyman  J.  Gage, 
President,  First  National  Bank,  Chicago. 

Morton  McMichael, 
Cashier,  First  National  Bank,  Philadelphia. 

George  A.  Butler, 
President  National  Tradesmen's  Bank,  New  Haven. 


ni 

110(3 

OF  THE 

AMERICAN  BANKERS'  ASSOCIATION, 

November,  1891. 


President: 
RICHARD  M.  NELSON,  President  Commercial  Bank,  Selma,  Ala. 

First  Vice-President : 

Chairman  Executive  Council: 
WILLIAM  H.  RHAWN,  President  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  Philadelphia. 

Treasurer : 
GEORGE  F.  BAKER,  President  First  National  Bank,  New  York. 

Secretary  : 
WILLIAM  B.  GREENE,  128  Broadway,  New  York. 


Executive  Council. 


(Members  for  one  year.) 
William  H.  RhAWN,  President  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Morton  McMichael,  Jr.,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Lyman  J.  Gage,  President  First  National  Bank,  Chicago,  111. 
A.  U.  Wyman,  President  Omaha  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  Omaha,  Neb. 
Emory  Wendell,  President  First  National  Bank,  Detroit,  Mich. 
Samuel  A.  Harris,  President  National  Bank  of  Commerce,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
E.  F.  Spence,  President  First  National  Bank,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

{Members  for  two  years.) 
Geo.  S.  Coe,  President  American  Exchange  National  Bank,  New  York. 
Edward  B.  Judson,  President  First  National  Bank,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
Charles  Parsons,  President  State  Bank,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Edward  S.  Butts,  President  Vicksburg  Bank,  Vicksburg,  Miss. 
Geo.  a.  Butler,  President  National  Tradesmen's  Bank,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
James  H.  Willock,  President  Second  National  Bank,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Jesse  G.  Hammer,  Cashier  Union  National  Bank,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 

{Members  for  three  years.) 
Thomas  H.  Wilson,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Thomas  R.  Roach,  Cashier  Southern  National  Bank,  New  Orleans,  La. 
C.  O.  Billings,  President  Globe  National  Bank,  Boston,  Mass. 
John  R.  Mulvane,  President  Bank  of  Topeka,  Topeka,  Kansas. 
N.  B.  Van  Slyke,  President  First  National  Bank,  Madison,  Wis. 
R.  Dudley  Frayser,  President  Memphis  City  Bank,  Memphis,  Tenn. 
G.  A.  Van  Allen,  President  First  National  Bank,  Albany,  N.  Y. 


Ov>'jt._tL.rViJl» 


Vice-Presidents. 


Alabama, 

Arizona, 

Arkansas, 

California, 

Colorado, 

Connecticut, 

Delaware, 


District  of  Columbia 

Florida, 

Georgia, 

Idaho,    . 

Illinois, 

Indiana,         . 

Iowa,     . 

Kansas, 

Kentucky, 

Louisiana,     . 

Maine,  . 

Maryland, 

Massachusetts, 

Michigan, 

Minnesota,   . 

Mississippi,  . 
Missouri, 
Montana, 
Nebraska, 
Nevada, 

New  Hampshire, 
New  Jersey, 
New  Mexico, 
New  York,     . 
North  Carolina, 
North  Dakota, 
Ohio,      . 
Oklahoma,     . 
Oregon, 
Pennsylvania, 
Rhode  Island, 
South  Carolina, 

South  Dakota, 
Tennessee,    . 
Texas,   . 
Utah,     . 
Vermont,      . 
Virginia, 
Washington, 
West  Virginia, 
Wisconsin,   . 
Wyoming,     . 


C.  W.  Ruth,  President  Alabama  National  Bank,  Mobile. 
Sol.  Lewis,  Vice-President  National  Bank  of  Arizona,  Phenix. 
Logan  H.  Roots,  President  Arkansas  L.  and  T.  Co.,  Little  Rock. 
S.  G.  Murphy,  President  First  National  Bank,  San  Francisco, 

D.  H.  Moffat,  President  First  National  Bank,  Denver. 

C.  S.  Mersick,  President  Merchants'  National  Bank,  New  Haven. 
Geo.  S.  Capelle,  President    National    Bank    of  Wilmington    and 
Brandywine,  Wilmington. 
,  J.  B.  Wilson,  President  Lincoln  National  Bank,  Washington. 
Bryan  Taliaferro,  Cashier  First  Nat.  Bank  of  Florida,  Jacksonville. 
P.  G.  BuRUM,  President  Commercial  Bank,  Augusta. 
C.  W.  Moore,  President  First  National  Bank  of  Idaho,  Boise  City. 
Thos.  S.  Ridgway,  President  First  National  Bank,  Shawneetown. 
Charles  McCulloch,  President  Hamilton  Nat.  Bank,  Ft.  Wayne. 
F.  M.  Drake,  President  Centerville  National  Bank,  Centerville. 
Calvin  Hood,  President  Emporia  National  Bank,  Emporia. 
R.  D.  Garrett,  Cashier  Citizens'  Bank,  Princeton. 
Albert  Baldwin,  President  New  Orleans  NaL  Bank,  New  Orleans. 
L.  G,  Downes,  President  Calais  National  Bank,  Calais. 
Charles  C.  Homer,  President  Second  Nat.  Bank,  Baltimore. 
Phineas  Pierce,  Vice-President  Continental  Nat.  Bank,  Boston. 
T.  H.  Hinchman,  President  Merch'ts  and  Mfrs.  Nat.  Bank,  Detroit. 
Frank  A.  Chamberlain,   President  Security  Bank  of  Minnesota, 
Minneapolis. 

B,  W.  Griffith,  Cashier  Capital  State  Bank,  Jackson. 

J.  C.  Van  Blarcom,  Cashier  National  Bank  of  Commerce,  St.  Louis. 
J.  A.  Coram,  Manager  Flathead  Banking  Company,  Demersville. 
Joseph  H.  Millard,  President  Omaha  National  Bank,  Omaha. 

C,  T.  Bender,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Reno. 

Wm.  F.  Thayer,  President  First  National  Bank,  Concord. 
Nathan  Haines,  Cashier  Mechanics'  National  Bank,  Burlington. 
Pedro  Perea,  President  First  National  Bank,  Santa  Fe. 
William  C.  Corn  well,  Cashier  Bank  of  Buffalo,  Buffalo. 
W.  H.  Penland,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Asheville. 
G.  H.  Fairchild,  President  First  National  Bank,  Bismarck. 
Stacy  B.  Rankin,  Cashier  Bank  of  South  Charleston,  S.  Charleston. 
Robt.  Kincaid,  President  Bank  of  Oklahoma  City,  Oklahoma  City, 
David  P.  Thompson,  President  Commercial  Nat.  Bank,  Portland. 
T.  P.  Day,  Cashier  People's  National  Bank,  Pittsburgh. 
John  Foster,  Cashier  National  Bank  of  Commerce,  Providence. 

E.  H.  Pringle,  Vice-President  Bank  of  Charleston,  National  Bank 

ing  Association,  Charleston. 

F.  D.  Fitts,  President  First  National  Bank,  Madison. 

J.  C.  Anderson,  President  National  Bank  of  Bristol,  Bristol. 
J.  E.  McAshan,  Cashier  South  Texas  National  Bank,  Houston. 

D,  II.  Peery,  President  First  National  Bank,  Ogden  City. 
Charles  Clement,  President  Clement  National  Bank,  Rutland. 
Legh  R.  Watts,  President  Bank  of  Portsmouth,  Portsmouth. 

A.  Norton  Fitch,  President  Traders'  Bank  of  Tacoma,  Tacoma. 
J.  S.  Jamesson,  President  First  National  Bank,  Piedmont, 

B.  B.  Northrop,  Cashier  Manufacturers'  National  Bank,  Racine. 
II.  G.  Balch,  President  Laramie  National  Bank,  Laramie  City. 


EXECUTIVE  COUNCIL, 

AMERICAN  BANKERS'  ASSOCIATION. 


Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy. 


Philadelphia,  June  i,  1892. 

At  its  meeting  on  March  2  the  Executive  Council,  acting  upon  the  recommendation 
of  the  Committee  approved  by  the  Association  at  its  last  Convention  at  New  Orleans, 
authorized  the  proposed  examination  into  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  in  Europe. 

The  Committee  is  fortunate  in  having  secured  the  valuable  services  of  Professor 
Edmund  J.  James,  Ph.D.,  for  this  most  important  work,  upon  which  he  zealously 
entered  last  month,  and  which  will  include  investigations  into  the  schools  of  Great 
Britain,  France,  Germany  and  Italy.  As  Professor  of  Public  Finance  and  Administra- 
tion in  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  President  of  the  American  Society  for  the  Extension  of  University  Teaching,  and 
of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  Doctor  James  is  so  well 
known  abroad  that  he  will  receive  a  welcome  to  the  best  institutions  of  Europe,  with 
which  his  long  residence  there  has  already  made  him  familiar.  The  results  of  his 
work  will  be  embodied  in  the  form  of  a  report  to  the  Committee,  for  presentation 
to  the  Association,  and  will  also  be  made  the  basis  of  an  address  before  its  Conven- 
tion, to  be  held  at  San  Francisco,  September  7  and  8  next.  The  whole,  when  pub- 
lished, must  form  an  invaluable  addition  to  the  literature  of  the  subject  to  which  the 
Association  has  been  giving  so  much  deserved  attention — the  education  of  business 
men. 

The  increasing  interest  manifested  by  educators  as  well  as  bankers  in  this  move- 
ment, and  the  demand  for  the  two  pamphlets  relating  to  it  issued  by  the  Association, 
have  induced  their  republication  in  the  form  here  presented,  chiefly  for  the  information 
and  use  of  the  faculties  and  trustees  of  the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  countr)'. 

\VlLLI.\M  H.  Rhawn, 

Chairman. 


EDUCATIOII  OF  BUSINESS  MEN.-I. 

EXECUTIVE  COUNCIL, 

AMERICAN  BANKERS'  ASSOCIATION. 

Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy. 

January  i,  i8gi. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  American  Bankers' 
Association,  held  m  New  York  City  on  October  i6,  1889,  the  following 
resolution,  offered  by  Mr.  William  H.  Rhawn,  was  unanimously  adopted  : 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  not  less  than  three  or  more  than  five  be 
appointed  by  the  chairman,  to  whom  shall  be  submitted  the  subject  of  the 
preparation  or  procurement  of  a  paper  to  be  read  at  the  next  Convention 
of  the  Association,  upon  the  establishment  of  schools  in  connection  with 
the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  country,  of  general  scope  and  character 
like  that  of 'The  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy,'  connected 
with  the  University  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  the  best  means  by  which  the  es- 
tablishment and  endowment  of  such  schools  may  be  promoted  and  fos- 
tered by  the  Association." 

The  Chairman,  Hon.  John  Jay  Knox,  appointed  as  a  Committee  under 
the  resolution,  Mr.  William  H.  Rhawn,  Mr.  Logan  C.  Murray,  and  Mr. 
Morton  McMichael. 

The  Committee  invited  Edmund  J.  James,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of  Public 
Finance  and  Administration  in  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Econ- 
omy of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia,  to  prepare  and  read 
the  proposed  paper  upon  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  before  the  next 
Convention,  which  invitation  he  kindly  accepted. 

In  announcing  the  forthcoming  paper  by  Professor  James,  the  Committee 
presented  the  general  plan  of  the  Wharton  School,  with  an  introductory 
statement  by  its  beneficent  founder,  Mr.  Joseph  Wharton,  and  invited  ex- 
pressions of  opinion  upon  the  subject  from  bankers  and  others,  in  response 
to  which  numerous  letters  strongly  commending  the  establishment  of  such 
schools  were  received. 

Professor  James  prepared  and  delivered  an  instructive  and  scholarly 
address  before  the  Association,  at  the  Convention  at  Saratoga,  on  Septem- 
ber 3,  1890,  and  the  Convention  unanimously  voted  him  the  thanks  of  the 
Association  for  his  address,  and  ordered  that  it  should  be  published  with 
the  proceedings,  and  also  in  separate  pamphlet  form,  together  with  the 
plan  of  the  Wharton  School. 

Resolutions  relative  to  the  address  and  to  the  establishment  of  Schools 
of  Finance  and  Economy  were  submitted  to  the  Convention  and  after  dis- 
cussion referred  to  the  Executive  Council,  which  reported  back  the  follow- 
ing resolutions,  v/hich  were  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Convention  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  American  Bankers'  Association  most  earnestly  com- 
mends, not  only  to  the  bankers,  but  to  all  intelligent  and  progressive  citi- 
zens  throughout  the  countrv,   the  founding   of  Schools   of  Finance  iind 


8 

Economy,  for  the  business  training  of  youth,  to  be  established  in  connection 
with  the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  land,  upon  a  general  plan  like  that 
of  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  so  ably  set  forth  by  Professor  James  in  his  most  admirable 
address  before  this  Convention  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Executive  Council  is  hereby  directed  to  carefully 
consider  and,  if  possible,  devise  some  feasible  plan  whereby  this  Associa- 
tion may  encourage  or  promote  the  organization  of  a  School  or  of  Schools 
of  Finance  and  Economy  among  our  institutions  of  learning,  and  report 
upon  the  same  to  the  next  Convention." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  held  at  the  close  of  the  Conven- 
tion on  September  5,  the  foregoing  resolutions  were  referred  to  the  under- 
signed Committee,  appointed  under  the  direction  of  the  Council  by  Mr. 
Charles  Parsons,  Chairman  pro  tem.,  as  a  Committee  on  Schools  of 
Finance  and  Economy. 

In  accordance  with  the  several  resolutions  of  the  Convention  and  of  the 
Executive  Council,  the  Committee  here  present  the  Address  of  Professor 
James  and  the  Plan  of  the  Wharton  School,  together  with  the  proceedings 
of  the  Convention  relating  thereto,  to  which  the  thoughtful  and  serious 
consideration  of  bankers  and  all  others  interested  in  the  problem  of  the  best 
education  for  the  coming  business  men  of  the  country,  is  earnestly  invited. 

Before  entering  fully  upon  the  consideration  of  a  feasible  plan  whereby 
the  American  Bankers'  Association  may  encourage  or  promote  the  organi- 
zation of  a  great  educational  institution  for  the  training  of  youth  into 
business  men,  such  as  has  been  so  vividly  portrayed  by  Professor  James,  and 
of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  in  connection  with  the  universities 
and  colleges  of  the  land,  the  Committee  desires  to  receive  and  respectfully 
invites,  from  the  members  of  the  Association  and  bankers  generally,  and 
from  all  friends  of  the  cause  of  such  education,  expressions  of  opinion 
and  suggestions  which  may  aid  the  Committee  in  its  work,  to  be  addressed 
to  the  Chairman  or  any  of  its  members,  and  for  which  the  thanks  of  the 
Committee  are  here  tendered  in  advance. 

William  H.  Rhawn, 
George  S.  Coe, 
Lyman  J.  Gage, 
Morton  McMichael, 
Asa  p.  Potter. 


SCHOOLS   OF   FINANCE   AND  ECONOMY 

Address  of  Professor  Edmund  J.  James,  Ph.D. 

Professor  of  Public  Finances  and  Administration,  Wharton  School  of  Fi- 
nance and  Economy,  University  of  Pennsylvania — before  Cotivention  of 
American  Bankers'  Association,  Saratoga,  N.  Y.,  Sept.j,  iSgo. 

Members  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association  : 

Your  committee  have  done  me  the  honor  of. inviting  me  to  address  you 
upon  the  subject  of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy.  I  respond  to  this 
invitation  with  much  pleasure.  It  is  a  delight  to  speak  to  an  intelligent 
audience  upon  a  question  of  general  interest.  It  is  a  source  of  special 
pleasure  to  present  the  claims  of  an  important  subject  to  a  set  of  men 
who  have  unusual  means  of  influencing  public  opinion  in  regard  to  it. 

There  are  few  subjects  of  more  general  interest  to  an  American  audi- 
ence than  those  relating  to  education.  Just  at  present,  moreover,  the  ques- 
tions pertaining  to  higher  education  are  receiving  an  unusual  share  of 
attention.  The  enormous  expansion  in  our  scheme  of  higher  instruction 
which  has  taken  place  in  the  last  twenty  years,  and  which  has  revolution- 
ized all  our  leading  institutions,  has  brought  to  the  front  a  number  of 
fundamental  questions  which  have  not  yet  been  fully  answered. 

Under  the  American  political  and  social  system  the  hope  of  general 
and  rapid  progress  in  any  line  lies  chiefly  in  interesting  the  public  at  laige 
in  the  matter.  It  is  not  possible  with  us,  if  an  improvement  is  to  be  made 
in  our  college  system,  for  example,  to  present  the  matter  to  a  Mmister  of 
Education  who,  upon  being  convinced  of  the  wisdom  of  a  proposed  change, 
may,  by  a  simple  order,  revolutionize  every  college  in  the  country.  AVe 
must,  on  the  contrary,  try  to  reach  the  public  and  create  a  demand  for  the 
change ;  or  persuade  the  leading  college  presidents  or  leading  trustees 
of  our  great  institutions  to  try  the  experiment. 

I  count  myself  happy,  therefore,  that  I  have  an  opportunity  to  present 
the  subject  of  this  paper  to  your  Association.  You  are  the  very  people  who 
should  be  interested  in  it  for  its  own  sake,  and  whose  co-operation  would 
ensure  its  promotion.  Many  of  you,  moreover,  are  trustees  of  colleges 
and  universities  and  from  such  positions  have  unusual  opportunities  to 
affect  the  educational  policy  of  the  country.  I  am  addressing,  therefore, 
not  merely  American  citizens  who  may  be  presumed  to  have  an  interest  in 
education  for  its  own  sake  ;  not  merely  American  business  men  who  should 
have  a  very  special  interest  in  all  that  relates  to  business  education,  but 
also  in  many  cases  trustees  of  our  higher  institutions  of  learning  whose 
solemn  duty  it  is  to  seek  out  and  try  all  things  which  may  help  in  the 
advancement  of  our  higher  instruction. 

The  subject  of  my  paper  is  the  higher  education  of  the  future  busi- 
ness man  or,  as  it  may  be  otherwise  stated,  a  college  course  for  the  future 
business  man ;  for  this  is  the  purpose  of  the  Schools  of  Finance  and 
Economy  mentioned  in  the  title  of  the  paper.  I  do  not  know  how  I  can 
present  the  subject  to  your  consideration  better  than  to  give  you  some 
account  of  the  experiment  we  are  trying  in  Philadelphia  in  the  Wharton 
School  of  Finance  and  Economy,  a  sub-department  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  I  do  this  the  more  readily,  as  it  was  the  success  of  this 
school  which  first  attracted  the  attention  of  your  Committee  to  the  sub- 


10 

ject,  and  it  was  my  connection  with  the  school  which  led  them  to  invite  me 
to  deliver  this  address. 

You  have  all  doubtless  received  a  communication,  sent  out  by  your  Com- 
mittee on  the  15th  of  November  last,  relating  to  the  Wharton  School  of 
Finance  and  Economy.  Appended  to  the  communication  was  a  copy  of 
the  original  plan  or  prospectus  of  the  school,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Joseph 
Wharton  and  submitted  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania as  an  indication  of  what  he  wished  the  school  to  be,  whose  estab- 
lishment he  secured  by  the  gift  of  $100,000  to  the  University.  In  that  pros- 
pectus and  in  an  address  recently  delivered  before  the  Wharton  School 
Alumni  Association,*  Mr.  Wharton  indicates  the  reasons  which  led  him  to 
establish  this  school.  As  they  were  reasons  which  go  to  the  very  root  of  the 
matter,  and  involve  some  of  the  most  important  aspects  of  our  whole  sys- 
tem of  higher  education,  I  cannot  do  better  than  present  the  subject  along 
the  lines  there  laid  down.  His  discussion  of  the  subject,  though  brief,  is 
direct  and  convincing.  It  involves  three  points  :  the  inadequacy  of  existing 
facilities  for  the  higher  education  of  our  business  classes;  the  desirability 
of  having  such  facilities  ;  suggestions  as  to  what  can  and  should  be  done. 

An  American  youth  who  is  looking  forward  to  a  business  career  and  has 
completed  the  ordinary  grammar  school  course,  stands  face  to  face  with  an 
interesting  and  important  problem.  Shall  I  seek  a  situation  in  some  business 
house,  closing  my  school  education  v/ith  what  I  have  now,  and  trusting  to  the 
friction  of  active  life  for  further  education,  or  shall  I  go  to  some  other 
school  a  while  longer,  and  trust  to  the  benefits  of  the  training  there  to  make 
up  for  the  greater  practical  knowledge  which  I  might  get  in  the  same 
number  of  years  in  the  counting  house,  factory  or  bank  ?  The  average  boy 
in  our  American  life  decides  in  favor  of  going  into  business  at  once.  This 
may  be  explained,  of  course,  on  the  ground  that  the  average  boy  has  no 
money  with  which  to  pay  his  way  at  higher  schools.  But  even  the  average 
boy  whose  parents  can  afford  to  send  him  longer  to  school  makes  the  same 
choice;  nay,  the  average  son  of  well-to-do  or  wealthy  parents  does  the  same 
thing.  Now  why  is  this.''  Why  do  such  a  large  number  of  those  able  to 
get  this  higher  training  turn  aside  and  refuse  it  ?  The  old  answer  was  that 
they  are  too  ignorant  or  lazy  or  indifferent.  Neither  they  nor  their  parents 
have  any  notion  of  the  immense  advantage  they  would  derive  from  this 
higher  training.  There  is  doubtless  much  truth  in  this  reply  ;  but,  perhaps. 
It  is  also  true  that  this  so-called  higher  education  appears  to  bear  but  little 
relation  to  their  future  work.  It  may  all  be  very  nice.  It  may  belong  to 
the  accomplishments  of  life.  It  makes  doubtless  a  fine  dessert ;  but  it  is  in 
all  probability  a  pure  article  of  luxury  which  no  energetic  and  vigorous 
person  who  is  determined  to  succeed  in  the  fierce  conflict  of  competitive 
business  can  afford  to  acquire  at  the  cost  of  years  of  effort.  This  is  doubt- 
less a  very  material,  but  also  a  very  natural  way  of  viewing  the  problem. 

Now,  what  courses  are  open  to  the  youth  who  determines  to  get  some- 
thing more  in  the  way  of  an  education  before  going  into  business?  He  might 
take  a  medical  or  theological  course  ;  the  former  would  increase  his  knowl- 


*"  Is  a  College  Education  Advantageous  to  a  Business  Man  ?  "  Address  delivered  before  the 
Wharton  School  .\ssociation  at  its  third  annual  reccjuion,  February  20,  i8<^o,  at  the  Manufacturers' 
Club,  Philadel|<bia. 


11 

edge  of  facts  enormously,  the  latter  would  sharpen  his  logical  acumen.  Such 
a  proposition,  however,  would  seem  absurd,  and  very  few  students  would 
ever  think  of  adopting  this  plan.  The  youth  might  take  a  law  school  course  ; 
he  would  find  much  in  that  work  to  quicken  his  faculties  and  some  infor- 
mation that  would  be  of  practical  value  to  him  in  his  business.  But  still,  if 
this  were  the  only  opportunity  for  higher  education  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
but  few  youths  looking  forward  to  a  business  career  would  ever  get  this 
higher  training.  We  have  now  also  the  technical  schools.  Our  youth  might 
graduate  in  civil  or  mining  engineering,  architecture,  etc.,  etc.  In  each  of 
these  and  similar  courses  he  would  find  something  of  value.  But  the  same 
thing  applies  to  them  as  to  medicine  and  theology  ;  but  few  students  would 
ever  take  these  courses  unless  they  intended  to  follow  the  corresponding 
profession.  What  then  remains?  Only  the  so-called  Commercial  or  Busi- 
ness College  and  the  literary  college.  It  is  safe  to  say  then  as  our  educational 
conditions  lie,  that  the  only  opportunity  for  higher  education  now  open  to 
youths  looking  forward  to  a  business  career  is  to  be  found  in  one  of  these 
institutions. 

As  to  the  so-called  Commercial  or  Business  Colleges,  I  would  not  will- 
ingly do  them  an  injustice.  I  believe  that  they  are  a  great  and  permanent  con- 
stituent of  our  educational  system.  They  have  done  and  are  doing  and  are 
destined  to  continue  doing,  a  great  and  useful  work.  But  the  training 
which  they,  with  few  exceptions,  furnish  can  scarcely  be  called  a  higher 
training  at  all.  It  has  to  do  with  "facilities" — indeed  chiefly  with  manual 
facilities — writing,  reckoning,  etc.,  those  things  that  go  to  make  up  a  good 
clerk,  things  of  great  value  in  themselves,  things  which  every  business  man 
would  be  the  better  for  having,  and  yet  things  which  after  all  are  only  facilities ; 
they  do  not  touch  the  essence  of  successful  business  management  or  tend  to 
develop  the  higher  sides  of  business  activity;  they  bear  little  or  no  relation 
to  those  bro.ider  views  characteristic  of  the  business  manager  as  distinct 
from  the  business  clerk  and  are  of  course  next  to  useless  as  a  means  of 
liberal  education.  The  knowledge  which  they  impart,  however  valuable  in 
itself,  "  does  not  suffice  to  fit  a  young  man  for  the  struggle  of  commercial 
life,  for  wise  management  of  a  private  estate  or  for  efficient  public  service."* 

Our  literary  colleges,  on  the  ether  hand,  are,  though  in  quite  a  different 
way,  also  incapable  of  answering  this  demand  for  the  higher  education  and 
training  of  the  business  man.  The  average  curriculum  of  the  American  col- 
lege IS  made  up  chiefly  of  Latin,  Greek,  and  higher  mathematics  with  a  dab 
of  natural  science,  modern  languages  and  history.  I  would  not  by  any  means 
underestimate  the  value  of  such  training  viewed  from  a  subjective  stand- 
point. A  vigorous  training  in  the  classics  and  higher  mathematics  undoubt- 
edly sharpens  a  man's  intellectual  faculties  ;  it  trains  his  tastes  and  widens 
his  whole  mental  horizon  ;  but  it  also,  as  things  go  now,  and  as  they  probably 
will  go  for  all  time  to  come,  tends  to  draw  away  the  youth  who  has  enjoyed 
it  from  a  business  life  ;  tends  to  fix  his  mind,  tastes,  thoughts  upon  a  very 
different  class  of  things  from  those  which  must  make  up  a  large  part  of  his 
future  as  a  business  man  and  citizen.  This  is,  of  course,  within  certain 
limits  an  excellent  thintr.     The  man  should  be  more  than  his  calling.     We 


*  Pamphlet  of  .\mcrican  Bankers'  Association  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy,  November 
IS,  1889,  p.  3. 


12 

should  be  men  before  we  are  an}^hing  else.  We  should  be  human  beings 
before  we  are  bankers,  or  manufacturers  or  lawyers  or  physicians,  and  our 
educational  system  should  aim  to  develop  all  our  power  and  tastes  and  pos- 
sibilities— should  increase  our  capacities  for  enjoyment  in  every  direction. 

But  all  this  has  reached  its  limit  when  the  educational  process  itself  has 
so  warped  individual  development  as  to  turn  aside  the  individual  from  a 
calling  for  which  he  has  special  aptitude  to  one  for  which  he  is  not  at  all 
fitted.  Now  no  one,  I  think,  who  has  been  through  college  himself  and  has 
afterwards  taught  for  years  in  a  college  can  help  admitting  that  the  tradi- 
tional college  curriculum  has  turned  aside  many  a  boy  from  a  business  ca- 
reer in  which  he  might  have  succeeded  to  a  professional  one  in  which  he 
failed.  Our  college  courses  as  they  are  at  present  constituted — considering 
the  preparatory  course  as  a  part  of  the  college — holds  the  boy  who  com- 
pletes it  during  two  very  critical  periods  :  the  one  from  1 2  to  16  and  the  other 
from  17  to  21  ;  where  he  passes  from  childhood  to  youth  and  from  youth  to 
manhood.  That  a  course  of  study  pursued  during  these  years — no  matter 
how  good  it  may  be  in  itself — may  warp  for  harm  many  a  boy  who  comes 
under  its  influence,  can  be  denied,  it  seems  to  me,  only  by  him  who  thinks 
it  possible  to  devise  an  absolutely  good  curriculum  which  will  be  suitable  to 
all  boys — no  matter  what  their  tastes  or  abilities.  There  are  some  people 
who  hold  to  this  view.  They  are  fortunately,  for  the  world,  becoming  fewer 
and  fewer  and  losing  their  influence  steadily. 

I  say  these  things  with  a  full  recognition  of  the  fact  that  many  of  our 
most  successful  business  men  in  all  lines  of  life,  banking,  manufacturing, 
merchandising,  etc.,  are  college  bred  men,  and  that  they  regard  themselves 
and  probably  with  justice  as  all  the  better  business  men  for  the  college  edu- 
cation which  they  have  had  ;  but  this  fact  is,  of  course,  no  answer  to  the 
above  propositions  since  the  claim  is  not  that  a  college  education,  even  of 
the  strictest  old-fashioned  type  destroys  or  even  weakens  a  man's  business 
ability,  but  simply  that  it  tends  in  many  instances  to  draw  men  away  from  a 
business  life  who  are  naturally  adapted  to  it ;  and  what  is  of  far  more  im- 
portance in  this  connection,  the  knowledge  that  such  a  course  is  all  the 
college  has  to  offer  him  deters  the  youth  looking  forward  to  business  from 
going  to  college  at  all — yea — even  from  considering  seriously  the  possible 
advantage  of  a  collegiate  training. 

However,  whatever  one  may  think  of  the  above  views,  and  I  am  well 
aware  that  many  people,  both  educationists  and  others,  will  take  exception  to 
them,  I  do  not  think  that  the  fact  can  be  denied  that  our  colleges  are  not 
educating  our  business  men  as  a  matter  of  fact.  The  case  is  not  so  bad  by  any 
means  as  it  was  represented  some  time  ago  by  Mr.  Carnegie,  who  declared 
that  he  did  not  know  any  successful  business  men  who  arc  college  gradu- 
ates. Our  larger  cities,  particularly,  show  many  very  successful  business 
men  who  are  graduates  of  colleges,  and  while  I  would  not  say  that  the  woods 
are  full  of  them,  yet  certainly  many  of  our  Western  frontier  towns  can  show, 
especially  among  the  very  young  men,  numerous  examples  of  collegians  suc- 
cessful in  business.  And  yet,  after  all,  there  is  an  immense  amount  of  truth 
in  what  Mr.  Carnegie  says.  It  may  be  perfectly  true,  as  has  been  contended 
on  the  other  hand,  that  the  proportion  of  college  men,  who,  having  gone 
into  business,  are  successful  is  immensely  greater  than  the  proportion  of 


13 

successful  men  among  the  non-college  class ;  and  yet  be  also  the  case,  as  it 
undoubtedly  is,  that  of  the  successful  business  men  in  this  country  but  very 
few  are  college  graduates,  /.  e.,  our  colleges  are  not  educating  our  business 
men.  It  was  shown  years  ago  that  the  population  of  this  country  was  grow- 
ing faster  than  the  number  of  students  in  our  colleges,  and  certainly  the 
business  classes  have  increased  in  number  much  more  rapidly  than  the  num- 
ber of  students,  /.  e.,  the  ratio  of  college  men  in  business  to  the  non-college 
men  is  declining.  Even  the  proportion  of  college  graduates  in  the  profes- 
sional schools  of  the  country  has  not  been  increasing  of  late,  z".  e.,  even  the 
number  of  physicians  and  lawyers,  and  possibly,  clergymen,  who  are  college 
graduates  is  not  relatively  increasing,  and  indeed  may  be  decreasing,  and 
yet  the  college  is  considered  specially  adapted  to  these  classes. 

In  other  words,  the  old-fashioned  college  curriculum  may  be  just  the 
thing  for  the  business  man — may  be  an  ideal  training  also  for  him  ;  but  if 
so,  he  does  not  see  it  and  has  not  been  persuaded  of  it,  and  from  all  present 
indications  never  will  be.  If  then,  it  is  desirable  for  our  business  men  to 
have  a  higher  training  some  other  curriculum  than  the  old-fashioned  one 
must  be  devised — some  course  arranged  which  will  appeal  to  them. 

It  was  these  considerations,  then,  that  determined  Mr.  Wharton  to  es- 
tablish this  school.  First :  the  belief  that  the  business  classes  of  our  country 
need  a  higher  training  as  much  or  more  than  any  other  classes ;  second, 
the  view  that  the  Commercial  or  Business  College,  however  valuable  its> 
curriculum,  is  by  its  very  nature  unable  to  give  this  higher  training  ;  third, 
the  fact  that  the  American  college,  however  real  and  valuable  its  higher 
training,  does  not  in  its  present  form  furnish  a  kind  of  higher  training  which 
appeals  to  the  business  sentiment  of  the  community,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact 
of  the  small  number  of  youths  looking  to  business  careers  who  enter 
college. 

The  result  of  these  convictions  was  the  establishment  of  the  Wharton 
School  of  Finance  and  Economy,  an  institution  to  furnish  a  higher  train- 
ing to  the  business  classes  of  the  community  which  should  be  at  once  liberal 
and  practical. 

The  desirability  of  such  facilities  for  higher  business  education  may  be 
regarded  from  two  points  of  view — that  of  the  community  and  that  of  the 
persons  most  immediately  benefited  by  it.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
a  liberal  education  of  the  business  classes  lies  in  the  interest  of  the  com- 
munity. One  of  the  most  striking  facts  of  modern  civilization  is  the 
rapidly  growing  importance  of  the  business,  as  distinct  from  the  professional 
classes.  This  is  plain  enough  even  in  Europe  where  it  is  still  kept  back  by 
the  predominance  of  the  court,  the  army  and  the  church  and  where  the  bar 
and  physic  still  maintain  their  high  position.  It  is,  however,  beyond  all 
doubt  true  in  this  country  where  the  great  merchant  prince,  the  railroad 
president,  the  great  manufacturer  and  banker  have  succeeded  to  the  place  of 
power  once  held  by  the  great  orator,  statesman,  lawyer  or  clergyman.  The 
professional  class  is  losing  ground,  the  business  world  gaining  it.  Whether 
for  weal  or  woe,  the  control  of  government,  of  society,  of  education,  of  the 
press,-  yes,  even  of  the  church  is  slipping  more  and  more  rapidly  into  the 
hands  of  the  business  classes,  and  it  is  this  class  which  to  an  ever  increasing 
extent  will  dominate  our  political  and  social  life. 


14 

The  question,  therefore,  what  their  education  shall  be  is  a  fundamental 
one  to  our  prosperity  and  welfare.  If  it  is  an  education  which  will  broaden 
and  liberalize  them,  enlarge  their  views,  widen  their  outlook,  quicken  their 
sympathies,  beget  and  increase  a  public  spirit  which  shall  find  its  greatest 
happiness  in  seeking  out  and  utilizing  means  of  promoting  the  common 
welfare,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  interests  of  our  society  and  civilization  will 
be  in  good  hands.  If  it  should  be  the  reverse  of  all  this,  then  woe  to  us  and 
our  posterity  ! 

Now  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  would  unduly  exaggerate  the  tendency 
of  a  higher  education  to  produce  those  and  similar  results.  I  have  met 
many  men  who  had  had  the  best  opportunities  for  a  liberal  education 
afforded  by  Europe  and  America  and  who  have  come  out  of  it  with  all  the 
narrowness  and  selfishness  of  the  meanest  hayseed  of  them  all  ;  and  we  all 
know  many  men,  of  no  school  education  worth  speaking  of,  who  were  j^et 
the  very  salt  of  the  earth  in  all  matters  which  call  for  a  liberal  view,  for  a 
self-sacrificing  public  spirit.  To  take  a  simple  illustration — how  much  of 
the  educational  endowment  of  this  country  is  owing  to  men  who  never  had 
a  chance  to  go  to  school  in  their  lives. 

And  yet  after  making  all  due  allowance  for  the  narrowness  of  many  so- 
called  liberally  educated  men,  and  for  the  liberality  of  many  so-called  un- 
educated men,  it  still  remains  true  that  the  higher  aspects  of  human  society 
— the  liberal  support  of  science  and  art,  the  intelligent  direction  of  charity 
and  benevolence  is  to  be  expected  chiefly  from  an  educated  class,  and  just 
in  proportion  as  our  ruling  sets  became  educated  may  we  expect  to  see 
these  finer  things  increase  and  multiply. 

There  is  another  aspect  to  the  problem.  The  so-called  uneducated  men 
who  through  their  ability,  energy,  and  perseverance  have  accumulated  for- 
tunes, have  found  in  the  very  necessity  of  sticking  to  business  early  and 
late  a  conservative  force  which  from  boyhood  on,  speaking  in  a  business 
sense,  has  kept  their  feet  m  the  way  that  they  should  tread.  Having  accumu- 
lated this  fortune  themselves  they  do  not  care  to  put  their  sons  through 
the  same  weary  round.  Where  shall  they  find  for  them  the  saving  force 
which  shall  do  for  them  in  the  growing  years  what  hard  work  did  for 
their  fathers.''  It  is  to  be  found  chiefly  in  the  right  sort  of  higher  education 
— an  education  that  shall  fit  them  to  take  up  in  the  right  spirit  the  work 
that  will  fall  upon  their  shoulders,  /.  e.,  the  management  of  property  already 
accumulated  or  business  already  established.  » 

I  cannot  agree,  moreover,  with  those  who  believe  that  it  is  a  good  thing 
for  fortune  once  accumulated  to  be  squandered.  Three  generations  from 
shirt  sleeves  to  shirt  sleeves  may  be  an  accurate  description  of  what  occurs 
as  a  matter  of  fact.  That  it  should  so  frequently  occur  is,  however,  to  be 
deplored.  It  is  possible  that  circumstances  may  favor  the  accumulation  of 
fortunes  so  great  as  to  be  a  menace  to  the  welfare  of  society;  but  aside 
from  this  circumstance,  the  existence  of  wealth  for  several  generations  in  a 
family,  if  it  be  kept,  not  by  artificial  conditions  but  by  the  existence  of 
qualities  necessary  to  accumulate  it  in  honest  ways  under  ordinaiy  condi- 
tions, may  be  a  great  means  of  bringing  out  the  finer  sides  of  life,  of  im- 
proving the  strain  of  the  stock,  of  raising  the  general  level  of  better  quali- 
ties in  society.    I  say  this  with  full  acknowledgment  of  the  fact  that  wealth 


15 

produces  in  many  cases  the  very  opposite  of  all  this  ;  but  if  so,  it  is  the 
fault  of  those  who  have  it  to  administer  and  are  too  shortsighted  and  nar- 
row to  count,  as  Socrates  used  to  say,  the  things  important  which  are  im- 
portant. 

The  higher  e(iucation,  then,  of  the  business  class  lies  in  the  interest  of 
society  as  a  whole.  Does  it  lie  in  the  interest  of  the  future  business  man 
himself?  Looking  at  the  problem  in  a  broad  way,  as  to  whether  a  higher 
education  can  make  life  the  better  worth  living,  I  should  say  perhaps  there 
would  be  but  little  difference  of  opinion.  The  answer  must  be  in  the 
affirmative.  If  there  is  something  soul-satisfying  in  striking  off  the  narrow 
limitations  which  hedge  about  the  life  of  the  corner  groceryman  in  the 
backwoods  village,  and  exchanging  such  a  career  for  that  of  the  wholesale 
dealer  in  the  large  city  with  all  that  the  latter  position  implies  in  larger  op- 
portunities for  social  intercourse  and  enjoyment,  for  self-improvement,  and 
for  public  service ;  what  shall  we  say  of  the  process  which  lifts  us  out  of  the 
narrow  material  ruts  of  every-day  routine  and  enables  us  to  share  in  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  mightiest  of  earth's  sages  in  all  departments  of 
human  science — which  fills  our  hearts  with  enthusiasm  for  all  that  is  good 
and  great  in  human  history,  fits  us  to  enjoy  the  highest  pleasures  of  the 
human  heart  and  intellect.'* 

But  can  this  higher  education  serve  any  practical  purpose?  it  may  be 
asked.  We  believe  it  can,  and  in  a  small  portion  of  the  field  we  are  trying 
at  Philadelphia  to  show  how  it  can  be  done.  To  do  it  adequately  over  a 
large  field  would  require  ten  or  fifteen  times  the  endowment  which  we 
have.  But  we  have  reason  to  be  satisfied,  and  indeed  to  feel  somewhat 
proud  of  the  results  we  have  thus  far  achieved.  We  feel  that  we  have  laid 
a  foundation  upon  which  we  can  build  indefinitely,  and  are  now  in  a  posi- 
tion to  use  wisely  almost  any  addition  which  may  come  to  our  income. 

Our  plan,  as  outlined  in  the  prospectus  by  Mr.  Wharton  above  referred 
to,  embraces  in  brief  two  elements  :  a  liberal  and  a  practical  element — the 
latter  also  being  made  up  of  two  parts,  a  general  and  a  special.  The  founder 
of  the  school  had  in  mind  two  lines  of  work  which  should  be  pursued  sim- 
ultaneously and  together  constitute  a  harmonious  curriculum,;  He  wished 
— to  use  his  own  words — to  establish  an  institution  in  which  should  be 
taught  the  principles  underlying  successful  civil  government,  and  a  training 
should  be  given  in  the  management  of  property.  Both  these  ends  were  to 
be  conceived  in  a  broad  spirit.  In  accordance  with  these  suggestions,  and 
following  the  lines  indicated  in  the  prospectus  above  referred  to,  we  have 
organized  and  developed  a  school  which,  in  our  opinion,  is  calculated  to 
serve  these  ends. 

The  curriculum  as  it  now  stands  is  appended  to  this  paper  and  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  describe  here  the  mode  of  conducting  the  courses 
and  the  ground  we  aim  to  cover.  One  of  the  prominent  elements  in  our 
curriculum  is  a  course  in  American  history  by  the  distinguished  historian 
John  B.  McMaster.  This  course  runs  through  two  years — three  hours  per 
week  the  first  year  and  four  hours  per  week  the  second.  This  is  no  ordi- 
nary text-book  course  dealing  chiefly  with  Indian  massacres,  battles  and 
Congressional  speeches  :  while  it  aims,  of  course,  to  give  the  leading  facts 
of  our  political  development,  of  the  settlement  and  growth  of  the  colonies  ; 


16 

of  the  War  of  the  Revolution ;  of  the  war  with  England,  with  Mexico  and 
the  war  between  the  States  ;  yet  its  chief  endeavor  is  to  discover  and  lay 
bare  the  very  heart-springs  of  our  national  existence.  It  is  not  merely 
i  the  what  but  the  why.  The  professor  is  not  content  with  teaching  what 
battles  were  fought  in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  for  example,  and  by 
whom  and  where  :  but  he  tries  to  show  how  it  was  that  a  French  and  In- 
dian war  arose  at  all,  and  why  it  had  to  be  conducted  as  it  was  and  how 
no  other  outcome  was  possible.  This  involves  a  careful  study  of  the  eco- 
nomic and  social  conditions  of  the  time  ;  it  makes  the  student  acquainted 
with  the  people  as  they  were  at  that  period  ;  it  leads  him  to  see  the  enor- 
mous difference  between  our  country  to-day  and  our  country  then.  He 
studies  the  means  of  communication  which  existed  then ;  the  primitive 
post-office,  the  system  of  highways,  or  rather,  lack  of  highwaj'S ;  the  means 
of  getting  about ;  the  system  of  money,  coin  and  paper;  the  kind  of  banks, 
and  the  way  they  were  managed,  the  system  of  agriculture,  the  manufac- 
turing system ;  the  products,  raw  and  manufactured,  the  social  habits,  the 
education  of  the  people,  etc.,  etc.,  in  a  word,  all  that  is  necessary  to  recon- 
struct that  period  in  the  imagination  of  the  student  and  make  it  apart  of 
his  mental  furnishing  for  all  time  to  come.  A  basis  is  thus  provided  for 
comparison  and  by  this  comparative  method  on  the  other  hand  the  acqui- 
sition and  retention  of  the  facts  thus  presented  is  made  easy. 

In  this  way  each  subsequent  period  is  taken  up  and  worked  over  and 
when  the  student  has  completed  his  course,  he  is  not  only  familiar  with  the 
names  of  the  Presidents,  of  the  Governors,  of  the  orators  and  statesmen 
of  the  Republic ;  he  not  only  knows  when  the  battle  of  the  Brandywine 
was  fought  and  when  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  the  close  of  the 
Revolution  ;  but  he  has  a  tolerably  clear  notion  of  the  course  of  our  coun- 
try's history  in  each  of  the  great  departments  of  our  national  life. 

He  knows,  for  example,  the  history  of  highway  improvement ;  how 
long  it  took  the  American  people  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  good 
highways;  the  growth  of  knowledge  and  interest  in  road-making  ;  the  turn- 
pike era,  the  rage  for  canal  building,  the  effects  of  our  great  canals  on  the 
lines  of  material  development,  the  importance  of  the  Erie  Canal,  econom- 
ically, socially,  politically;  the  introduction  of  the  railway  and  its  effect  on 
the  canal  and  turnpike  system ;  why  the  railways  followed  the  parallels 
rather  than  the  meridians  ;  the  effect  of  the  railway  system  on  national 
industry  and  federal  centralization;  the  reawakened  interest  in  the  im- 
provement of  land  and  water  ways,  etc.,  etc. 

He  knows  something  of  the  educational  history  of  the  country.  He 
knows  when  the  great  colleges  took  their  rise;  what  the  secondary  and 
primary  schools  were  a  century  ago  ;  how  bitter  was  the  fight  for  a  respect- 
able system  of  school  education  in  nearly  every  Northern  State,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  States  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line;  how  slowly  the 
conviction  grew  that  popular  education  is  necessary  to  the  perpetuity  of 
republican  institutions;  and  how  difficult  was  the  struggle— by  no  means 
finished— to  establish  as  the  necessary  standard  of  popular  education  some- 
thing more  than  the  three  R's;  how  the  whole  idea  of  free  public  educa- 
tion so  slowly  germinating,  so  slowly  growing,  bore  its  first  great  and  influ- 
ential fruit  in  the  magnificent  systems  of  education  developed  in  the  Mis- 


17 

sissippi  Valley — more  especially  in  Michigan ;  how  magnificently  private 
liberality  has  come  to  the  aid  of  the  State,  creating  and  supporting  such 
institutions  as  Harvard,  Yale,  Columbia,  Cornell,  Princeton,  Pennsylvania, 
Johns  Hopkins  and  many  others  ;  how  the  Federal  Government  has  aided 
in  this  great  work — not  only  by  its  munificent  land  grant  to  which  public 
education  in  all  the  States  owes  so  much,  but  by  the  establishment  of  those 
wonderful  scientific  departments  at  Washington  which  are  the  admiration 
and  envy  of  every  foreign  country. 

To  take  another  illustration,  the  student  has  a  good  view  of  our  finan- 
cial history.  The  revenue  system  of  the  Federal  Government,  of  the  States 
and  of  the  communities  receives  much  attention.  The  student  begins  with 
the  revenue  system  of  the  Confederation,  to  which,  of  course,  only  brief 
attention  is  given.  From  1789  on,  details  are  carefully  studied.  The  vari- 
ous tariffs  are  compared  with  reference  to  the  rates  of  duty,  articles  taxed, 
fruitfulness  of  duties,  system  of  administration,  method  of  valuation,  kinds 
of  duties,  ad  valorem,  specific,  combined,  etc.,  etc.,  in  a  word,  all  that  is 
necessary  to  enable  the  student  to  get  a  clear  idea  of  our  tariff  history,  the 
discussions  and  disputes  which  have  occurred  in  its  course.  The  same  thing 
is  done  for  the  internal  revenue  system,  the  system  of  direct  taxes,  etc. 

Similar  and,  indeed,  more  detailed  attention  is  given  to  the  history  of 
money  and  banking.  A  brief  study  is  made  of  the  money  and  banking 
system  of  pre-revolutionary  times — a  period  full  of  interesting  and  instructive 
experiments.  A  careful  study  is  made  of  the  period  from  the  close  of  the 
Revolution  to  the  adoption  of  the  present  constitution  ;  and  from  the 
discussions  about  the  first  United  States  bank  down  to  the  present,  a  detailed 
study  of  money  and  banking  is  made.  This  is  not  confined  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  two  United  States  Banks,  our  present  system  of  National  Banks, 
and  the  sub-treasury  system  ;  but  it  extends  to  the  system  of  State  banks  as 
well.  It  comprises  not  only  the  banks  of  issue  but  all  sorts  of  banks — every 
kind  of  institution,  indeed,  that  enters  into  the  money  and  credit  S3^stem  of 
the  country.  All  this  on  the  historical  side  of  the  course;  the  discussion  of 
the  principles  of  banking  belongs  to  a  special  course  which  will  be  men- 
tioned later. 

And  so  I  might  go  on  and  take  up  other  subjects,  but  this  is  sufficient 
to  give  you  an  idea  of  what  is  included  within  the  course  in  American  his- 
tory. It  means,  you  see,  a  history  of  the  people,  their  origin,  habits,  feelings 
and  institutions — economic,  social  and  religious. 

Side  by  side  with  this  course,  runs  a  course  in  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  which  being  somewhat  historical  in  character  supplements 
the  first  very  fully,  though  its  object  is  not  so  much  historical  as  expository. 
It  embraces  a  careful  study  of  the  Federal  Government,  supplemented  by 
a  study  of  State  and  Local  government.  It  begins  with  a  consideration  of 
the  Federal  Constitution — article  by  article.  Much  attention  is  given  to 
the  discussion  of  disputed  questions  with  a  view  of  bringing  out  the  princi- 
ples underlying  our  system  of  federal  government  and  training  the  student 
to  see  the  fine  points  of  constitutional  law  at  the  same  time  that  he  grows 
familiar^with  the  principles  of  constitutional  interpretation  as  laid  down  by 
our  great  jurists.  This  is  followed  by  a  discussion  of  the  government  and 
its  various  departments  as  they  now  exist.     The  same  thing  is  then  done 


18 

for  the  State  and  Local  government  though  in  a  briefer  way.  The  student 
is  thus  furnished  with  a  knowledge  of  his  own  political  institutions  and 
his  relation  to  the  government  under  which  he  lives  and  in  which  he  should 
take  a  part. 

The  work  just  described  in  American  history  and  American  politics  is 
work  which  is  of  value  and  should  be  of  interest  to  ever}^  American  citizen 
and  which  receives,  therefore,  a  very  unusual  amount  of  attention  in  the 
Wharton  School  of  Fmance  and  Economy. 

Supplementary  to  these  courses  and  aiming  to  give  a  basis  of  comparison 
for  careful  and  intelligent  study  are  courses  in  foreign  politics  and  history. 
The  government  of  one  or  more  leading  foreign  countries  is  taken  up  and 
presented  point  by  point  in  comparison  with  our  own.  In  this  way  the  stu- 
dent increases  his  stock  of  knowledge  and  at  the  same  time  comes  to 
understand  our  own  political  system  better,  He  learns  to  distinguish  the 
essential  from  the  accidental.  He  sees  the  weak  points  of  our  own  system 
and  the  strong  points  of  others.  He  acquires  an  inextinguishable  interest 
in  our  political  problems  and  an  earnest  ambition  to  assist  in  their  solu- 
tion. 

Parallel  again  with  these  courses  in  American  history  and  politics,  runs 
a  line  of  work  intended  to  train  the  student  in  the  investigation  of  the  un- 
derlying principles  of  economic,  industrial  and  political  phenomena.  This 
includes  the  courses  in  political  science,  political  economy,  finance,  money 
and  banking.  The  attempt  is  made  here  to  discover  and  set  forth  funda- 
mental principles.  The  abstract  questions  are  discussed,  the  doctrine  of 
theory  of  the  State,  value,  rent,  population,  wages,  money,  credit,  taxation, 
free  trade,  protection,  with  the  infinitude  of  sub  questions  related  to  them, 
such  as  paper  money,  bimetalism,  poor  laws,  banks,  single  tax,  eight-hour  laws, 
strikes,  etc.  The  student  learns  in  this  course  the  various  theories  in  re- 
gard to  these  things,  the  various  explanations  offered  for  existing  phenomena, 
and  remedies  proposed  for  social  defects  and  diseases.  It  is  in  these  courses 
that  the  student  lays  the  foundation  for  an  intelligent  and  independent 
opinion  on  all  the  burning  questions  of  the  day,  whether  they  relate  to  his 
business  in  the  narrow  sense  of  the  term  or  to  the  important  and  pressing 
questions  of  public  policy  in  other  directions. 

Finally,  parallel  with  these  courses  which,  as  will  be  seen,  are  all  more  or 
less  general  in  their  nature,  are  the  business  courses  in  the  narrower  sense  of 
the  term.  These  form  a  nucleus  containing  what  is  of  interest  to  all  busi- 
ness men  alike.  They  consist  of  three  parts :  First,  a  course  in  the  general 
theory  of  accounting;  second,  in  business  law  ;  third,  in  business  practice. 
The  first  embraces  a  careful  study  of  the  general  principles  underlying  single 
and  double  entry  bookkeeping,  also  the  study  of  a  dozen  or  more  sets  of 
books  carefully  selected  from  leading  branches  of  business  and  representing 
the  best  practice  of  typical  houses.  A  special  point  is  made  of  developing 
the  general  principles  and  then  illustrating  typical  variations  or  applications, 
so  that  the  student  can  understand  with  ease  any  set  of  books  he  might 
have  occasion  to  examine  or  use.  The  idea  is  not  so  much  to  make  an 
expert  bookkeeper  in  any  one  set  of  books  or  style  of  accounting  as  to  train 
the  student  so  that  in  a  short  time  he  could  become  expert  in  any  position 
he  might  take  ;  and  above  all  so  that  he  can  understand  with  facility  and 


19 

unravel  with  ease  any  set  of  accounts.  Another  point  to  which  much  at- 
tention is  directed  is  corporate  and  public  accounting.  It  is  hoped  that  in 
course  of  time  a  reasonable  system  of  accounting  can  be  introduced  into  the 
practice  of  our  cities,  counties  and  State  governments. 

The  course  in  business  law  is  also  of  a  general  nature.  It  comprises  a 
study  of  those  business  forms  and  acts  which  are  common  to  all  business 
alike — such  as  the  promissory  note.  The  idea,  of  course,  is  not  to  make  a 
lawyer,  nor  to  make  the  lawyer  indispensable,  but  to  give  the  future  business 
man  knowledge  enough  about  such  things  that  he  may  know  when  he  does 
need  a  lawyer,  and  to  familiarize  him  with  some  of  the  more  usual  forms 
common  to  all  branches  of  business. 

The  course  in  business  practice  is  intended  to  be  a  study  of  the  organiza- 
tion and  methods  of  work  characteristic  of  a  few  typical  lines  of  business, 
selected  not  so  much  with  reference  to  their  relative  money  value  as  to  their 
value  as  specimens  or  illustrations  of  the  business  methods  and  spirit  of  the 
community. 

Without  going  further  into  detail,  enough  has  been  said  to  give  an  idea 
of  .he  scope  and  aims  of  the  school.  Our  methods  are  directed  to  produc- 
ing so  far  as  college  training  can  do  it,  educated  young  men  with  a  taste  for 
business,  vigorous,  active  workers,  of  sturdy  character  and  independent  opin- 
ion, having  a  lofty  faith  in  all  things  good,  and  able  to  give  a  reason  for  the 
faith  that  is  in  them.  Each  student  is  trained  to  work  and  think  for  him- 
self. He  is  put  on  the  track  of  the  best  that  has  been  written  on  all  sides 
of  all  important  questions  that  fall  within  the  range  of  our  investigations, 
and  if  he  holds  an  opinion  he  is  expected  to  know  on  what  grounds,  and  to 
be  able  to  express  them.  I  said  above — all  this,  so  far  as  college  training 
can  do  it.  We  must  never  forget  that  college  graduates  are  at  best  a  callow 
set  and  nothing  can  be  more  amusing  (except  when  he  is  disgusting)  than  a 
youth  just  out  of  college  who  has  "  matured  "  opinions  on  all  subjects,  and 
one  of  the  results  of  the  best  college  training  is  a  modesty  of  opinion,  an 
open  mindedness  which  leaves  room  for  future  growth. 

Let  us  glance  one  moment  before  leaving  this  for  another  point,  at  what 
the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  can  do  for  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  the  future  banker. 

If  a  young  man  completes  the  course,  he  will  have  acquired  a  fairly 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  history  and  government  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  with  some  knowledge  of  foreign  politics  and  historj',  and  a 
general  view  of  the  principles  of  accounting,  of  business  laws  and  practice. 
He  will  also  have  a  pretty  thorough  grasp  of  the  fundamental  principles  of 
political  economy,  will  have  studied  with  some  thoroughness,  as  college 
study  goes,  the  land  question,  the  labor  question,  the  railroad  question,  the 
ballot  reform,  civil  service  reform,  congressional  reform,  prohibition  and 
many  other  similar  economic  and  political  topics.  He  will  have  had  a 
pretty  thorough  course  in  the  theory  of  money  and  credit ;  will  understand 
the  arguments ^r(?  and  con  in  regard  to  bimetalism  and  to  paper  money, 
and  will  know  our  own  history  on  these  points;  can  set  forth  the  consider- 
ations in  favor  of  and  against  the  constitutionality  of  the  original  United 
States  Bank ;  can  explam  its  organization  and  give  a  history  of  its  work- 
ings and  its  end.     He  is  also  acquainted  with  the  history  and  methods  of 


20 

the  second  bank  and  of  our  present  National  Banking  system.  He  will 
be  able  to  explain  the  various  functions  of  a  bank  and  the  economic  system 
of  the  country  and  describe  the  different  kinds  of  banks,  both  here  and 
abroad,  and  give  a  fair  history  of  private  banks  in  this  country  from  1789 
to  the  present.  He  will  be  able  to  explain  the  workings  of  the  money 
market,  so  far  as  it  can  be  explained  ;  that  is,  he  can  give  the  various  theories 
in  regard  to  it,  etc  ,  etc. 

All  this,  of  course  will  not  make  him  a  banker.  It  may  not  quicken  hi& 
sense  for  a  good  security  one  iota  or  enable  him  to  devise  a  new  kind  of 
bank  which  shall  make  him  wealthy.  But  it  will  contribute  toward  making 
him  an  educated  man,  knowing  something  more  about  his  business  than 
the  ordinary  hand-to-mouth  practical  man,  having  a  wide  view  of  the  rela- 
tions of  his  business  to  other  lines  of  business  and  to  society  as  a  whole^ 
and  above  all,  an  intelligent  American  citizen,  with  a  quickened  interest  in 
everything  that  concerns  his  country  and  his  time  and  an  immensely  greater 
desire  and  ability  to  use  what  he  may  learn  and  what  he  may  earn  in  his 
business  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow  men. 

It  will  doubtless  have  occurred  to  you  that  more  instruction  in  the  prac- 
tical details  of  the  banking  business  would  be  desir-'ble  in  the  curriculum. 
In  this  the  Faculty  would  doubtless  fully  concur.  We  need  very  much  a 
lecturer  on  banking  who  could  give  his  whole  time  and  attention  to  this 
one  subject.  If  we  had  that  to  supplement  present  facilities,  we  should 
have  an  almost  ideal  course  for  a  youth  who,  looking  forward  to  a  banking 
career,  desired  a  higher  education  which  should  bear  some  relation  to  his 
future  work. 

In  closing,  it  is  only  necessary  to  add  that  the  Wharton  School  of  Fi- 
nance and  Economy  is  an  integral  part  of  the  college  department  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  Students  who  have  completed  the  first  two  years 
of  the  college  course,  either  classical  or  scientific,  are  admitted  to  the  Whar- 
ton School  and  graduated  with  the  Bachelor's  degree  after  two  years  suc- 
cessful study.  Those  students  who  have  studied  Greek  five  years  and  Latin 
six  before  entering  the  school  with  the  other  studies  usually  embraced  in 
the  classical  course  to  the  close  of  the  Sophomore  year,  receive  the  A.  B.  de- 
gree ;  other  students  the  Ph.  B. 

I  believe  that  our  experience  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  amply 
proves  the  feasibility  of  introducing  into  our  college  curriculum  the  ele- 
ments of  business,  and  that  this  feature  will  popularize  without  lower- 
ing the  college,  and  thus  strengthen  its  hold  on  the  community.  Wherever 
this  sort  of  course  can  be  introduced  and  properly  equipped,  it  will  benefit 
the  college  and  public  alike. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  description  that  the  bulk  of  the  Wharton 
School  curriculum,  aside  from  the  business  course,  consists  of  courses  in  his- 
tory and  the  political  and  social  sciences.  These  latter  elements  are  also  of 
fundamental  importance  in  the  liberal  training  of  lawyers  and  in  the  profes- 
sional training  of  journalists,  statesmen  and  college  professors  in  these  sub- 
jects. Hence  it  comes  that  of  the  students  in  the  Wharton  School  a  large 
per  cent,  is  made  up  of  those  who  expect  to  enter  the  academic,  legal,  news- 
p>aper  or  political  career. 

The  ideal  of  the  Faculty,  it  may  be  said,  is  a  great  institution,  compris- 


31 

ing  many  different  courses,  one  looking  to  business,  another  to  journalism, 
still  another  to  politics,  another  to  the  university — all  composed  alike  of 
two  elements  :  a  common  one,  consisting  of  such  studies  as  political  econ- 
omy, constitutional  law,  politics,  history,  etc. ;  and  a  professional  one,  em- 
bracing such  special  instruction  as  may  be  of  aid  to  preparing  the  students 
for  their  particular  careers.  The  business  course  itself  should  be  subdivided 
according  to  the  intention  of  the  student,  and  should  comprise  not  merely 
the  fundamental  branches  we  now  have,  but  many  others,  such  as  railroad- 
ing, commerce,  insurance,  etc. 

An  institution  like  this,  with  a  curriculum  based  upon  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  our  own  vernacular,  its  use,  literature,  history,  etc.,  with  such  other 
languages,  ancient  or  modern,  as  the  student  might  choose  to  take,  and  all 
based  on  a  thorough  elementary  training  in  languages,  mathematics  and 
natural  science,  would  be  an  addition  to  our  educational  system  compar- 
able in  importance  and  influence  only  to  the  great  system  of  technical 
schools  which  in  a  different  field  are  revolutionizing  our  American  educa- 
tion. It  would  give  us  also  the  best  system  of  training  for  business,  jour- 
nalism, teaching — in  a  word  for  citizenship,  which  the  world  has  yet  seen. 
It  would  make  the  man  or  men,  the  family  or  the  community  who  estab- 
lished it  immortal  in  the  educational  history — not  merely  of  this  country 
but  of  the  world.  Who  shall  be  the  first  to  utilize  this  magnificent  chance .? 
We  have  begun  to  cultivate  one  corner  of  the  field  in  Philadelphia,  and 
shall  press  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  its  full  occupation,  but  shall 
also  rejoice  in  the  meantime  if  some  other  place  outstrips  us  in  this  gener- 
ous race  for  the  highest  position  in  this  great  work. 

I  would  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and 
Economy  as  it  was  conceived  in  a  broad  way,  so  we  are  trying  to  manage 
it  in  a  broad  and  liberal  spirit — both  educationally  and  otherwise.  Our 
students  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the  curriculum  or  course  outlined 
above.  All  the  studies  represented  in  the  modern  American  University 
of  large  type  and  equipment  are  open  to  them  if  they  choose  to  take  them. 
To  present  the  subjects  thus  open  to  them  would  be  to  repeat  the  catalogue 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania ;  but  a  brief  list  of  some  of  the  more  im- 
portant will  be  of  interest  in  this  connection.  Leaving  out  of  view  the 
Medical,  Dental,  Veterinary  and  Law  Schools,  with  over  loo  professors  and 
instructors,  the  college  department  alone,  with  the  Faculty  of  Philosophy, 
has  over  70  instructors  and  professors,  conducting  more  than  225  half  yearly 
courses  in  some  sixty  different  subjects,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  : 
Hebrew  (2)*;  Sanskrit  (2);  Greek  (7);  Latin  (8));  English  (15);  Anglo- 
Saxon  (2) ;  Gothic  (2) ;  German  (6) ;  French  (6)  ;  Italian  (2) ;  Spanish  (i) ; 
Philosophy  (6);  Psychology  (6);  History  (13);  Drawing  (3);  Mathe- 
matics (25);  Physics  (5);  Chemistry  (16);  Zoology  (11);  Botany  (19); 
Physiology  (i) ;  Geology  (5) ;  Mineralogy  (3) ;  Metallurgy  (4);  Mining  (3) ; 
Civil  Engineering  (28);  Mechanical  Engineering  (21);  Architecture  (6); 
Music  (3) ;  etc.  v. 

Surely  here  is  range  of  selection  large  enough  to  suit  most  college  boys. 
The  possibility  of  selection  is  conditioned,  of  course,  by  the  exigencies  of 
the  programme  ;  but  any  of  these  subjects  may  be  taken  by   regular  stu- 

*The  number  ia  parenthesis  indicates  the  number  o£  courses  in  the  subject. 


Z2 

dents  if  the  hours  do  not  conflict  and  the  student  is  physically  and  mentally 
able  to  take  such  extra  work  ;  while  special  students  can,  of  course,  adapt 
themselves  to  such  hours  as  they  wish. 

Permit  me,  then,  members  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association,  to 
bespeak  your  interest  in  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy; 
but  still  more  in  the  great  work  to  which  it  is  devoted — viz.,  the  develop- 
ment of  a  higher  course  of  study,  at  once  liberal  and  practical,  which  will 
appeal  to  the  business  sentiment  of  the  community  and  the  adoption  of  such 
courses  in  more  and  more  of  our  colleges  and  universities. 

Note. — For  a  fuller  discussion  of  some  topics  connected  with  this  gen- 
eral subject  see : 

1.  A  School  of  Political  and  Social  Science.     By  E.  J.  James, 

Ethical  Record,  1 890. 

2.  Schools  of  Political  and  Social  Science.      By  E.  J.  James. 

Publications  of  Philadelphia  Social  Science  Association.     Phila- 
delphia, 1886. 

3.  The  Study  of  Politics  and  Business  at  the  University  of 

Pennsylvania.    Philadelphia,  1889. 

4.  Is  a  College  Education  Advantageous  to  a  Business  Man? 

By  Jas.  Wharton,  Philadelphia,  1890. 


APPENDIX. 

THE  WHARTON   SCHOOL  OF   FINANCE  AND   ECONOMY. 

university  of   PENNSYLVANIA. 

This  school  was  founded  by  Mr.  Joseph  Wharton,  of  Philadelphia,  in 
order  to  provide  for  young  men  special  means  of  training,  and  of  correct 
instruction  in  the  knowledge  and  in  the  arts  of  modern  Finance  and  Econ- 
omy. It  serves  for  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  the  same  purposes  as 
are  served  in  other  institutions  by  their  Departments  or  Faculties  of  His- 
tory and  Politics,  or  by  the  so-called  Schools  of  Political  Science.  In  ad- 
dition, however,  to  the  courses  usually  provided  in  such  departments,  this 
Institution  offers  also  a  course,  at  once  liberal  and  practical,  which  is  spe- 
cially designed  for  those  who  intend  to  enter  upon  business  pursuits. 

The  founder  of  the  School  expressed  the  desire  that  it  should  offer  facil- 
ities for  obtaining, — 

(i)  An  adequate  education  in  the  principles  underlying  successful  civil 
government. 

(2)  A  training  suitable  for  those  who  intend  to  engage  in  business  or  to 
undertake  the  tnanageinent  of  property. 

In  order  to  realize  these  objects,  courses  have  been  provided  in  Political 
Economy,  Social  Science,  Finance,  Statistics,  Political  Science,  Adminis- 
trative and  Constitutional  Law  of  the  United  States  and  of  leading  foreign 
countries.  Comparative  Politics,  Political  and  Constitutional  History  of  the 


23 

United  States,  Theory  and  Practice  of  Accounting,  and  Mercantile  Law 
and  Practice. 

It  will  be  observed  that  nearly  all  the  courses  above  enumerated  are 
such  as  may  fairly  lay  claim  to  be  called  liberal  branches,  and  such  as  every 
American  citizen  should  pursue  in  outline  at  least  as  a  preparation  for  the 
duties  of  citizenship. 

They  are,  however,  also  studies  which  form  a  leading  constituent  in  the 
special  preparation  for  certain  callings,  such  as  the  teaching  of  History  and 
Politics,  Journalism,  Business,  Public  Service  and  Law. 

The  attention,  therefore,  of  students  who  are  looking  forward  to  enter- 
ing upon  these  or  similar  lines  of  work  is  especially  invited  to  the  facilities 
of  this  Institution. 


CURRICUIvUM. 

JUNIOR  CLASS. 
First  Term. 

Public  Law  and  Politics  i. — Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Three  hours 
{First  Teym).     Mon.,  Tk.,  at  ii,  Tu.  at  I2.     Professor  James. 

Business  Law  and  Practice  i. — Methods  of  Accounting.  7'wo  hours.  Mon.  at 
12,  Tu.  at  g,   Wed.  at  i,  Fri.  at  (j.     Dr.  Falkner. 

History  7. — American  Political  and  Social  History.  Colonial  History.  History  of 
the  Public  Domain.  Distribution  of  Population  {Outline  printed  for  the  class). 
Preparation  of  Boundary,  Population,  and  Economic  Maps.  Three  hours  {First 
Term).  Tu.  at  11,  Wed.,  Th.,  at  ID.  Whartott  School  Congress  meets  once 
each  week.     Professor  McM aster. 

History  8. — Church  and  State  in  America  (Lectures).  Two  hours  (First  Term), 
Mon.  at  \o.  Wed.  at  ii.     Professor  Thompson. 

Economics  and  Social  Science  i. — Political  Economy.  Walker's  Political  Econ- 
omy i^nd  AdaLm?)m\\.h!s  Wealth  of  Nations.  Three  hours  {First  Tenn).  Mon., 
Wed.,  at  9,  Tu.  at  10.    Professor  Patten. 

Economics  and  Social  Science  3. — Social  Science.  Thompson's  Elements  of  Po- 
litical  Economy.      Two  hours.      Tk.  at  c),  Fri.  at  11.     Professor  Thompson. 

Philosophy  I. — Logic.  Lectures  and  Recitations.  ]t\Qns' Lessons  in  Logic.  Two 
hours  {First  Term'",    Wed,  at  12,  Fri.  at  10.     Professor  Fullerton. 

Second  Term. 

Public  Law  and  Politics  3. — History  and  Theory  of  the  State.  One  hour.  (Sec- 
ond Term).      Tu.  at  12.     Professor  James. 

Public  Law  and  Politics  4. — Constitutions  of  leading  foreign  countries.  Two 
hours  {Second  Term).     Mon.,  Th.,  at  11,     Professor  James. 

Public  Law  and  Politics  2. — State  Constitutional  Law.  Two  hours  {Second 
Term).     Dr.  Thorpe. 

Business  Law  and  Practice  i. — Methods  of  Accounting.  Two  hours.  Mon.  at 
12,  Tu.  at  9,   Wed.  at  i,  Fri.  at  9.     Dr.  Falkner. 

History  9. — American  Political  and  Social  History  (Washington  to  Jackson).  Lec- 
tures, Maps,  Outline  printed  for  the  class.  Three  hours  {Second  Term).  Tu.  at 
II,  Wed.,  Th.,at\o.  Wharton  School  Congress  meets  once  each  week.  Professor 
McMaster. 


24 

History  io. — Economic  History  of  the  United  States.      Two  hours  {^Second  Term). 

Man.  at  lo,   Wed.  at  ii.     Professor  Thompson. 
Economics  and  Social  Science  2. — Currency  and  Banking.      Jevons'  Money  and 

the  Mechanism  of  Exchange.      Three  hours  {Second  Term).     Mon.,  Wed.,  at  q^ 

Tu.  at  JO.     Professor  Patten. 
Philosophy  2. — Ethics.      Lectures  and  Recitations.       Two  hours  {Second  Term), 

Wed.  at  12,  Fri.  at  10.     Professor  Fullerton. 

SENIOR  CLASS. 

First  Term. 

Public  Law  and  Politics  5. — Public  Administration  in  the  United  States.  Two 
hours  {First  Term).     Mon.  at  12,  Th.  at  10.     Professor  James. 

Economics  and  Social  Science  7. — Revenue  System  in  the  United  States  and  lead- 
ing foreign  countries.  Two  hours  {First  Term).  Wed.,  Fri.,  at  11.  Professor 
James. 

Business  Law  and  Practice  2. — Mercantile  Law.  Parsons'  Law  of  Business. 
Two  hours  {First  Term).     Mon.  at  11,  Tu,  at  12.     Dr.  Falkner. 

Economics  and  Social  Science  4. — Social  Science.  Lectures  and  Compositions. 
Three  hours  {First  Term).     Mon.  at  11,  Fri.  at  10.     Professor  Thompson. 

Economics  and  Social  Science  5. — Political  Economy.  Mill's  Political  Economy. 
Three  hours  {First  Term).      Tu.,  Th.attj,  Wed.  at  10.     Professor  Patten. 

History  13. — American  Political  and  Social  History  (1825-1889).  Lectures,  Maps. 
Four  hours  (Fifst  Term).  Mon.,  Tu.,  at  10,  Wed.  at  12,  Th.  at  il.  Wharton 
School  Congress  meets  once  each  week.     Professor  McM aster. 

Second  Term. 

Public  Law  and  Politics  6. — Public  Administration  in  leading  foreign  countries. 
Two  hours  {Second  Term).     Mon.  at  12,  Th.  at  10.     Professor  James. 

Business  Law  and  Practice  3. — Mercantile  Practice.  Lectures.  Two  hours  {Sec- 
>  ond  Teim).     Mon.  at  II,  Tu.  at  12.     Mr.  Falkner. 

Economics  and  Social  Science  6. — Political  Economy.  Ingram's  History  of  Poli- 
tical Economy.  Three  hours  {Second  Term).  Tu.,  Th.  at  ().  Wed.  at  10.  Pro- 
fessor Patten.  ^ 

Economics  AND  Social  Science  8. — History  and  Theories  |of  Public  Finance,  espe- 
cially of  Taxation.  Two  hours  {Second  Term).  Wed.,  Fri.  at  11.  Professor 
James. 

Economics  and  Social  Science  9. — Statistics,  General  Theory,  Statistics  of  Pop- 
ulation.    Lectures.      Two  hours  {Second  Term).     Dr.  Falkner. 

History  14. — American  Constitutional  History  (1776-1889).  Diplomatic  History. 
Biography  of  American  Statesmen.  Lectures.  Three  hours  {Second  Term).  Tu. 
at  10,   Wed.  at  12,  Th.  at  11.     Professor  McMaster. 

History  15. — Seminary  of  American  History.  Constitutional  History  of  the  United 
States,     Two  hours.     Professor  McMaster. 

METHODS  OF  WORK. 
The  plan  for  instruction  embraces  recitations,  lectures  and  seminaries. 
The  endeavor  is  made  to  train  the  students  to  think  independently  on  the 
topics  that  form  the  subjects  of  instruction.  An  earnest  cfTort  is  made  to 
exclude  all  dogmatism  in  political  or  economic  teaching,  to  present  fairly 
all  aspects  of  disputed  questions,  and  to  put  the  students  in  a  position  to 
form  their  own  opinions  on  intelligent  grounds. 


25 

The  advanced  students  receive  special  attention  and  assistance  in  the 
seminaries,  which  are  organized  to  promote  correct  habits  of  work  and  to 
foster  a  spirit  of  original  investigation. 

In  order  to  quicken  interest  in  political  and  economical  subjects,  and  to 
encourage  acquaintance  with  parliamentary  procedure,  a  congress  has  been 
formed  in  the  school.  It  is  divided  into  Senate  and  House,  and  adopts 
the  rules  of  procedure  of  the  respective  houses,  following  the  course  of 
Congressional  debate  and  action,  but  confining  itself  to  a  few  leading 
topics. 

FELLOWSHIPS. 

Five  honorary  Fellowships,  which  confer  the  privilege  of  attending  any 
of  the  economic  and  historical  courses  of  the  University  free  of  charge,  are 
assigned  at  the  beginning  of  each  year.  Graduates  of  any  American 
college,  or  of  foreign  schools  of  similar  grade,  are  eligible  for  appointment. 

AUXILIARY  FACILITIES. 

All  the  courses  in  the  other  departments  of  the  College,  embracing  those 
usually  found  in  the  graduate  and  undergraduate  courses  of  our  best  Uni- 
versities, are  open  to  students  of  the  Wharton  School  without  extra  charge 
for  tuition,  so  far  as  this  is  consistent  with  their  roster  of  studies  in  the 
School. 

The  following  courses  given  in  the  Law  School  are  of  special  interest  to 
students  in  this  department : 

1.  Roman  Law, 

2.  Constitutional  Law  of  the  United  States. 

3.  International  Law. 

4.  History  of  the  Common  Law. 

Besides  the  University  Library,  which  has  an  unusually  valuable  collec- 
tion of  works  on  economics  and  statistics,  the  public  libraries  of  the  city, 
and  many  of  the  private  ones  also,  aggregating  several  hundred  thousand 
volumes,  are  open  to  the  students  in  the  pursuit  of  their  University  work. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

A  series  of  occasional  publications  on  Political  Economy  and  Public 
Law  and  on  History  will  be  issued  by  the  University,  representing  a  portion 
of  the  work  done  in  the  seminaries  by  the  professors  and  students.  The 
following  numbers  have  already  appeared  : — i.  Wharton  School  Annals  of 
Political  Science.  2,  The  Anti-Rent  Agitation  in  New  York.  3.  Ground 
Rents  in  Philadelphia.  4.  Consumption  of  Wealth.  5.  Prison  Statistics 
in  1888.  6.  Rational  Principles  of  Taxation.  7.  German  Constitution. 
5.  Swiss  Constitution. 

LIBRARY. 

The  University  possesses  a  large  and  valuable  library  of  works  relating  to 
finance  and  political  economy.  The  foundation  was  laid  by  the  great 
collection  of  the  late  Stephen  Colwell,  comprising  between  seven  and  eight 


26 

thousand  volumes,  and  including  nearly  every  important  book  on  these 
subjects  in  the  English,  French,  and  Italian  languages,  published  before 
i860.  This  collection  has  been  supplemented  by  the  bequest  of  the  library 
of  the  late  Henry  C.  Carey,  which  includes  many  later  works  and  pamphlets, 
and  is  especially  rich  in  statistical  literature,  European  government  reports, 
and  the  like.  It  embraces  a  collection  of  about  three  thousand  English 
pamphlets,  formerly  Mr.  McCalmont's,  covering  the  period  from  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  century  to  our  own  times,  and  bound  in  chronological 
order.  Mr.  Joseph  Wharton  has  recently  increased  his  benefactions  to  the 
School  by  a  gift  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  establish  a  fund  for  the 
purchase  of  books  in  economics  and  politics. 

Original  research  by  the  students,  under  the  direction  of  the  professors, 
is  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  School. 


27 


Resolution  of  Executfve  Council   of    the  American  Bankers' 

Association,  at  their  Meeting  on  October  i6,  1889,  in 

New  York  City. 

Introducing  Plan  of  the 
WHARTON  SCHOOL  OF  FINANCE  AND  ECONOMY 

or  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
On  motion  of  William  H.  Rhawn,  it  was 

Resolvtd,  That  a  Committee  of  not  less  than  three,  or  more  than  five,  be  appointed  by  the 
chairman,  to  whom  shall  be  submitted  the  subject  of  the  preparation  or  procurement  of  a  paper  to 
be  read  at  the  next  Convention  of  the  Association  upon  the  establishment  of  schools  in  connection 
with  the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  country,  of  general  scope  and  character  like  that  of  "  The 
Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  "  connected  with  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  ;  and 
the  best  means  by  which  the  establishment  and  endowment  of  such  schools  may  be  promoted  and 
fostered  by  the  Association. 

The  Chairman,  the  Hon.  John  Jay  Knox,  appointed  on  above  Com- 
mittee, Mr,  William  H.  Rhawn,  Mr.  Logan  C.  Murray  and  Mr.  Mor- 
ton McMlCHAEL. 

To  explain  the  intention  and  scope  of  Mr.  Rhawn's  resolution,  the 
following  statement  is  made  : 

In  May,  1881,  Mr.  Joseph  Wharton,  the  founder  of  the  Wharton  School 
of  Finance  and  Economy,  sent  to  the  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania the  address  and  project  hereto  attached,  marked  Plan  of  the 
Wharton  School. 

Those  Trustees  having  decided  to  accept  the  proffered  endowment,  and 
to  establish  the  School,  Mr.  Wharton  transferred  to  them  on  June  22,  iSSi, 
the  fund  of  $100,000,*  and  a  contract  was  executed  between  him  and  the 
said  Trustees,  to  which  was  attached  a  copy  of  the  above-mentioned  ad- 
dress and  project  in  order  to  exhibit  in  full  the  conditions  of  the  endow- 
ment. That  contract  bound  the  University  to  carry  out  the  enterprise  on 
the  lines  thus  laid  down,  and  it  provided  that  by  Mr.  Wharton  during  his 
lifetime,  and  by  the  Judges  of  the  Philadelphia  Courts  of  Common  Pleas 
after  his  death,  a  visitor  might  be  appointed  who  should  have  authority  to 
inspect  the  workings  of  the  School. 

With  the  commencement  of  the  next  term  at  the  Universitythis  School 
was  opened,  and  was  at  first  but  moderately  successful.  The  proposed 
course  of  instruction  was  novel  and  did  not  apparently  open  an  immediate 
career  to  the  graduates  ;  the  requirements  for  admission  and  for  study  be- 
ing at  first  thought  easier  than  in  other  departments  of  the  University, 
those  other  departments  had  superior  attractions  for  the  most  vigorous 
young  men  ;  the  professors  and  instructors  must  needs  feel  their  way  at 
first,  and  gradually  form  both  themselves  and  the  School. 

But,  by  steady  perseverance  in  its  task,  the  School  has  constantly  im- 
proved in  the  thoroughness  of  its  instruction,  and  has  so  demonstrated  its 

*  Mr.  Wharton  has  since  added  $25,000  for  a  library. 


28 

usefulness  that  it  is  now-  chosen  by  many  of  the  most  earnest  students,  and 
ranks  as  high  as  any  other  department  in  the  mental  discipline  it  imparts. 

Its  peculiar  and  special  line  of  work  naturally  draws  to  it  students  with 
many  aims  and  from  many  quarters.  Japan,  for  instance,  has  from  the  first 
had  one  or  more  representatives  in  the  School ;  the  present  United  States 
Minister  to  Brazil  studied  here. 

Although  the  extensive  libraries  of  the  late  Hon.  Henry  C.  Carey  and 
the  late  Hon.  Stephen  Colwell,  as  well  as  sundry  other  valuable  contribu- 
tions of  books,  were  placed  at  the  disposition  of  this  School,  the  necessity 
for  continued  accession  of  new  publications  became  apparent,  and  on 
October  4,  1889,  Mr.  Wharton  made  a  further  endowment  of  $25,000 — in 
six  per  cent,  bonds — to  found  a  library  fund.  The  income  derived  from 
the  said  bonds  or  from  any  reinvestment  of  the  fund  to  be  applied  to  the 
purchase  of  such  books,  periodicals,  documents  or  publications  as  have  a 
special  bearing  on  the  subjects  which  by  the  deed  of  gift  founding  the 
School  are  to  be  therein  taught. 

As  the  corps  of  professors  and  instructors  has  been  improved  by  grad- 
ual selection  and  training  into  a  really  capable  and  efficient  Faculty,  so  has 
the  tone  of  the  students  been  elevated.  At  present  admission  is  of  those 
who,  after  passing  two  years  in  the  general  Freshman  and  Sophomore 
classes  of  the  University,  have  elected  to  spend  their  Junior  and  Senior 
two  years  in  this  School. 

It  seems  reasonable  to  expect  not  only  for  this  School  a  career  of  real 
service  to  the  community,  but  for  other  schools  to  be  established  elsewhere 
on  similar  lines,  a  large  part  in  the  future  education  of  this  country. 

Plan  of  the   Wharton  School. 
To  THE  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania: 

The  general  conviction  that  college  education  did  little  toward  fitting 
for  the  actual  duties  of  life  any  but  those  who  purposed  to  become  lawyers, 
doctors,  or  clergymen,  brought  about  the  creation  of  many  excellent  tech- 
nical and  scientific  schools,  whose  work  is  enriching  the  country  with  a 
host  of  cultivated  minds  prepared  to  overcome  all  sorts  of  difficulties  in 
the  world  of  matter. 

Those  schools,  while  not  replacing  the  outgrown  and  obsolescent  sys- 
tem of  apprenticeship,  accomplish  a  work  quite  beyond  anythmg  that  sys- 
tem was  capable  of.  Instead  of  teaching  and  perpetuating  the  narrow, 
various,  and  empirical  routines  of  certain  shops,  they  base  their  instruction 
upon  the  broad  principles  deduced  from  all  human  knowledge,  and  ground 
in  science,  as  well  as  in  art,  pupils  who  are  thereby  fitted  both  to  practice 
what  they  have  learned  and  to  become  themselves  teachers  and  dis- 
coverers. 

In  the  matter  of  commercial  education  there  was  formerly  a  system  of 
instruction  practiced  in  the  counting-houses  of  the  old-time  merchants  re- 
sembling the  system  of  apprenticeship  to  trades.  Comparatively  few  ex- 
amples of  this  sort  of  instruction  remain,  nor  is  their  deficiency  made  good 
by  the  so-called  Commercial  Colleges,  for  however  valuable  may  be  the 
knowledge  which  they  impart,  it  does  not  suffice  to  fit  a  young  man  for  the 


29 

struggle  of  commercial  life,  for  wise  management  of  a  private  estate,  or  for 
efficient  public  service. 

It  is  obvious  that  training  in  a  commercial  house  not  of  the  first  rank 
for  magnitude  and  intelligence  must,  like  trade  apprenticeship,  often  re- 
sult in  narrowness  and  empiricism  which  are  not  compensated  by  the  hard 
and  practical  certainty  within  limited  bounds  derived  from  the  routine  of 
trade  or  business.  Since  systematic  mstruction  cannot  be  expected  from 
the  overworked  heads  of  any  great  establishment,  the  novice  mostly 
depends  on  what  he  can  gather  from  the  salaried  employes  of  the  house, 
and,  instead  of  being  instructed  in  the  various  branches,  is  probably  kept 
working  at  some  particular  function  for  which  he  has  shown  aptitude,  or 
where  his  service  is  most  needed.  Besides,  ordinary  prudence  requires 
that  many  things  indispensable  to  mastery  of  the  business  should  be  kept 
secret  from  these  novices. 

There  is,  furthermore,  in  this  country,  an  increasing  number  of  young 
men  possessing,  by  inheritance,  wealth,  keenness  of  intellect  and  latent 
power  of  command  or  organization,  to  whom  the  channels  of  commercial 
education,  such  as  it  is,  are,  by  the  very  felicity  of  their  circumstances, 
partly  closed,  for  when  they  leave  college  at  the  age  of  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  years  they  are  already  too  old  to  be  desirable  beginners  in  a  counting- 
house,  or  to  descend  readily  to  its  drudgery. 

No  country  can  afford  to  have  this  inherited  wealth  and  capacity  wasted 
for  want  of  that  fundamental  knowled^je  which  would  enable  the  possessors 
to  employ  them  with  advantage  to  themselves  and  to  the  community,  yet 
how  numerous  are  the  instances  of  speedy  ruin  to  great  estates,  and  indo- 
lent waste  of  great  powers  for  good  simply  for  want  of  such  knowledge  and 
of  the  tastes  and  self-reliance  which  it  brings.  Nor  can  any  country  long 
afTord  to  have  its  laws  made  and  its  government  administered  by  men  who 
lack  such  training  as  would  suffice  to  rid  their  minds  of  fallacies,  and  qual- 
ify them  for  the  solution  of  the  social  problems  incident  to  our  civilization. 
Evidently  a  great  boon  would  be  bestowed  upon  the  nation  if  its  young 
men  of  inherited  intellect,  means  and  refinement  could  be  more  generally 
led  so  to  manage  their  property  as,  while  husbanding  it,  to  benefit  the  com- 
munity, or  could  be  drawn  into  careers  of  unselfish  legislation  and  admin- 
istration. 

As  the  possession  of  any  power  is  usually  accompanied  by  taste  for  its 
exercise,  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  adequate  education  in  the  princi- 
ples underlying  successful  business  management  and  civil  government 
would  greatly  aid  in  producing  a  class  of  men  likely  to  become  most  useful 
members  of  society,  whether  in  private  or  in  public  life.  An  opportunity 
for  good  seems  here  to  exist  similar  to  that  so  largely  and  profitably  availed 
of  by  the  technical  and  scientific  schools. 

These  considerations,  joined  to  the  belief  that  one  of  the  existing  great 
universities,  rather  than  an  institution  of  lower  rank,  or  a  new  independent 
establishment,  should  lead  in  the  attempt  to  supply  this  important  defi- 
ciency in  our  present  system  of  education,  have  led  me  to  suggest  the  pro- 
ject herewith  submitted,  for  the  establishment  of  a  School  of  Finance  and 
Economy  as  a  Department  of  the  University  which  you  now  control,  and 
which  seems  well  suited  to  undertake  a  task  so  accordant  with  its  general 


30 

aims.  In  order  that  the  University  may  not,  by  undertaking  it,  assume  a 
pecuniary  burden,  I  hereby  propose  to  endow  the  School  with  the  securi- 
ties below  named,  amounting  to  $100,000,  and  yielding  more  than  $6000 
annua!  interest;  these  securities  not  to  be  converted  during  my  lifetime 
without  my  assent,  and  no  part  of  the  endowment  to  be  at  any  time  in- 
vested in  any  obligation  of  the  University,  viz. : 

$50,000  stock  in  the  Delaware  and  Bound  Brook  Railroad  Company. 

$50,000  mortgage  bonds  of  the  Schuylkill  Navigation  Company,  due 
in  1907. 

I  am  prepared  to  convey  these  securities  at  the  opening  of  the  first  term 
of  the  School,  or  at  any  earlier  time  when  the  University  shall  satisfy  me 
that  the  School  will  surely  be  organized  as  below  stated,  and  opened  at  the 
beginning  of  the  next  term,  interest  being  adjusted  to  such  time  of  opening. 

The  only  conditions  which  I  impose  are  that  the  University  shall  estab- 
lish and  maintain  the  School  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  "Project" 
hereto  appended,  and  that  if  the  University  shall  at  any  time  hereafter,  by 
its  own  desire,  or  by  default  established  in  a  suitable  Court  of  Equity,  cease 
so  to  maintain  the  School,  or  if  the  School  shall  fail  to  attract  students 
and  therefore  prove  in  the  judgment  of  such  Court  to  be  of  inconsiderable 
utility,  the  endowment  shall  forthwith  revert  to  me  or  to  my  heirs,  I  re- 
serving the  right  during  my  life  to  amend  in  any  way,  with  the  assent  of  the 
then  Trustees  of  the  University,  the  terms  of  the  said  "  Project." 

To  commemorate  a  family  name  which  has  been  honorably  borne  in 
this  community  since  the  foundation  of  the  city,  I  desire  that  the  School 
shall  be  called  "  The  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy." 

THE   PROJECT. 

1.  Object.  To  provide  for  young  men  special  means  of  training  and  of 
correct  instruction  in  the  knowledge  and  in  the  arts  of  modern  Finance 
and  Economy,  both  public  and  private,  in  order  that,  being  well  informed 
and  free  from  delusions  upon  these  important  subjects,  they  may  either 
serve  the  community  skillfully  as  well  as  faithfully  in  offices  of  trust,  or, 
remaining  in  private  life,  may  prudently  manage  their  own  affairs  and  aid 
in  maintaining  sound  financial  morality:  in  short,  to  establish  means  for 
imparting  a  liberal  education  in  all  matters  concerning  Finance  and  Econ- 
omy. 

2.  Qualifications  for  Admission.  Assuming  that  the  special  instruction 
of  this  School  will  occupy  three  years,  which  may  be  called  the  sub-junior, 
junior,  and  senior  years,  the  general  qualifications  for  admission  to  the  sub- 
junior  class  should  be  equal  to  those  for  the  corresponding  class  in  the 
Towne  Scientific  School,  but  different  in  detail  to  the  extent  required  by 
the  difference  in  studies  to  be  thenceforward  pursued. 

As  preparatory  to  admission  to  that  class,  candidates  may  at  the  discre- 
tion of  the  Trustees  of  the  University,  be  received  into  either  of  the  lower 
classes  of  the  Department  of  Arts,  or  of  the  Towne  Scientific  School,  upon 
the  same  general  conditions  as  shall,  from  time  to  time,  be  established  for 
admission  to  those  classes.  To  guard  against  the  too  frequent  unsound- 
ness of  preliminary  instruction,  which  is  a  vice  of  our  time,  and  which 
affords  no  proper  foundation  for  a  collegiate  course,  honest  fulfillment  must 


31 

be  exacted  of  those  reasonable  detailed  conditions  for  admission  which 
shall,  from  time  to  time,  be  determined  upon  and  set  forth  in  the  official 
catalogue. 

3.  Organizatioti.     The  School  to  be  conducted  by — 

(a)  One  principal  or  dean,  to  exercise  general  control  over  the  whole 
School  and  to  give  tone  to  the  instruction.  He  should,  besides  taking  such 
part  as  may  be  found  expedient  in  the  routine  instruction  of  the  various 
classes,  give  stated  and  formal  lectures,  constituting  a  part  of  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  graduating  class,  and  should  in  each  year  produce  for  publica- 
tion a  treatise  upon  some  topic  of  current  public  interest  connected  with 
the  lines  of  study  pursued  in  the  School,  which  treatises  should  be  of  such 
nature  as  to  bring  reputation  to  the  School,  and  to  possess  permanent  value 
as  a  series.  No  such  treatise  to  be  published  until  approved  by  a  commit- 
tee of  the  Board  of  Trustees  appointed  for  that  purpose,  a  certificate  of 
their  examination  and  approval  to  be  printed  at  the  beginning  of  the  treatise. 

((5)  One  professor  or  instructor  of  accounting  or  bookkeeping,  to  teach 
the  simplest  and  most  practical  forms  of  bookkeeping  for  housekeepers, 
for  private  individuals,  for  commercial  and  banking  firms,  for  manufactur- 
ing establishments,  and  for  banks ;  also,  the  modes  of  keeping  accounts  by 
executors,  trustees,  and  assignees,  by  the  officials  of  towns  and  cities,  as 
well  as  by  the  several  departments  of  a  State  or  National  Government ;  also, 
the  routine  of  business  between  a  bank  and  a  customer. 

(c)  One  professor  or  instructor  upon  money  and  currency,  to  teach  the 
meaning,  history,  and  functions  of  money  and  currency,  showing  particu- 
larly the  necessity  of  permanent  uniformity  or  integrity  in  the  coin  unit 
upon  which  the  money  system  of  a  nation  is  based  ;  how  an  essential  attri- 
bute of  money  is  that  it  should  be  hard  to  get ;  the  nature  of,  and  reasons 
for,  interest,  or  hire  of  money,  and  rents ;  the  advantages  of  an  adequate 
precious-metal  fund  for  settling  international  balances  as  well  as  for  regu- 
lating and  checking  by  redemption  the  paper  money  and  credits  of  a 
modern  commercial  nation ;  how  such  metallic  hoards  are  amassed  and  de- 
fended ;  the  extent  to  which  paper  money  may  be  advantageously  em- 
ployed ;  the  distinctions  between  bank-notes  and  Government  notes ;  the 
uses  and  abuses  of  credit,  both  private  and  public  ;  the  uses  and  abuses  of 
bills  of  exchange,  letters  of  credit,  and  promissory  notes ;  the  history  of 
banking,  and  particularly  of  Government  banks  ;  the  advantages  and  dan- 
gers of  banks  of  issue,  banks  of  deposit  and  savings  banks  ;  how  the  func- 
tions of  different  sorts  of  banks  may  be  combined  in  one,  and  how  any  of 
them  may  be  banks  of  discount ;  the  functions  of  clearing-houses ;  the 
phenomena  and  causes  of  panics  and  money  crises ;  the  nature  of  pawn 
•establishments  and  of  lotteries  ;  the  nature  of  stocks  and  bonds,  with  the 
ordinary  modes  of  dealing  therein. 

{d)  One  Professor  or  Instructor  upon  Taxation,  to  teach  the  history 
and  practice  of  modern  taxation  as  distinguished  from  the  plunder,  tribute, 
or  personal  service  which  it  for  the  most  part  replaces  ;  the  proper  objects 
and  rates  of  taxation  for  municipal.  State,  or  National  purposes  ;  the  pub- 
lic ends  for  which  money  may  properly  be  raised  by  taxation  ;  the  nature 
of  direct  and  indirect  taxation,  of  excise,  of  customs  or  import  duties,  of 
export  duties,  of  stamps,  of  income  tax  ;  the  modern   methods  by  which 


32 

taxes  are  usually  levied  ;  the  influences  exercised  upon  the  morality  and 
prosperity  of  a  community  or  nation  by  the  various  modes  and  extents  of 
taxation ;  the  effects  upon  taxation  of  wars  and  of  standing  armies ;  the 
extent  to  which  corporations  should  be  encouraged  by  the  State  and  to 
what  extent  they  should  be  taxed  as  compared  with  individuals  engaged  in 
similar  pursuits. 

(e)  One  Professor  or  Instructor  upon  Industry,  Commerce  and  Trans- 
portation, to  teach  how  industries  advance  in  excellence,  or  decline,  and  shift 
from  place  to  place  ;  how  by  intelligent  industry  nations  or  communities 
thrive ;  how  by  superior  skill  and  diligence  some  nations  grow  rich  and 
powerful,  and  how  by  idleness  or  ill-directed  industry  others  become  rude 
and  poor;  how  a  great  nation  should  be  as  far  as  possible  self-sufficient, 
maintaining  a  proper  balance  between  agriculture,  mining  and  manufac- 
tures, and  supplying  its  own  wants  ;  how  mutual  advantage  results  from 
reciprocal  exchange  of  commodities  natural  to  one  land  for  the  diverse 
commodities  natural  to  another,  but  how  by  craft  in  commerce  one  nation 
may  take  the  substance  of  a  rival  and  maintain  for  itself  virtual  monopoly 
of  the  most  profitable  and  civilizing  industries ;  how  by  suitable  tariff 
legislation  a  nation  may  thwart  such  designs,  may  keep  its  productive  in- 
dustry active,  cheapen  the  cost  of  commodities,  and  oblige  foreigners  to 
sell  to  it  at  low  prices  while  contributing  largely  toward  defraying  the  ex- 
penses of  its  government ;  also,  the  nature  and  origin  of  money  wages ;  the 
necessity,  for  modern  industry,  of  organizing  under  single  leaders  and  em- 
ployers great  amounts  of  capital  and  great  numbers  of  laborers,  and  of 
maintaining  discipline  among  the  latter  ;  the  proper  division  of  the  fruits 
of  organized  labor  between  capitalist,  leader,  and  workman  ;  the  nature 
and  prevention  of  "strikes;"  the  importance  of  educating  men  to  com- 
bine their  energies  for  the  accomplishment  of  any  desirable  object,  and  the 
principles  upon  which  such  combinations  should  be  effected. 

{/)  One  Professor  or  Instructor  upon  Elementary  and  Mercantile  Law, 
to  teach  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  of  Pennsylvania;  the 
principal  features  of  the  United  States  law  concerning  industry,  commerce, 
navigation  and  land  and  mining  titles  ;  the  principal  features  of  the  laws 
of  Pennsylvania  and  of  other  States  concerning  mercantile  affairs,  part- 
nerships and  corporations ;  of  so-called  international  law ;  of  the  law  of 
common  carriers  ;  the  nature  and  operation  of  fire,  marine  and  life  insur- 
ance; the  principal  features  of  State  law  concerning  inheritance,  convey- 
ance of  land  titles,  mortgages  and  liens ;  in  brief,  the  history  and  present 
status  of  commercial  legislation  and  the  directions  in  which  improvements 
may  be  hoped  and  striven  for,  particularly  as  to  harmonizing,  or  unifying 
under  United  States  laws,  the  diverse  legislation  of  the  several  States  of 
this  Nation  ;  the  manner  of  conducting  stockholders' and  directors' meet- 
ings as  well  as  public  meetings,  the  rules  governing  parliamentary  assem- 
blies, the  routine  and  forms  of  legislative  bodies. 

Elocution  should  be  taught  and  practiced  to  the  extent  of  habituating 
the  students  to  clear,  forcible  and  unembarrassed  utterance  before  an  audi- 
ence of  whatever  they  may  have  to  say,  not  in  such  manner  as  to  promote 
mere  rhetoric  or  prettiness.  Athletic  exercise  within  moderate  limits 
should  be  encouraged,  as  tending  to  vigor  and  self-reliance.    Latin,  Ger- 


33 

man  and  French,  and  sound  general  knowledge  of  mathematics,  geography, 
history  and  other  branches  of  an  ordinary  good  education  must  be  acquired 
by  the  students,  but  these  points  are  not  here  dwelt  upon,  because  it  is  de- 
sired to  direct  attention  to  the  peculiar  features  of  the  School. 

This  sketch  of  the  instruction  to  be  given  in  the  School  is  not  to  be  re- 
garded as  precisely  defining,  much  less  as  limiting,  that  which  shall  be  there 
undertaken  and  carried  on,  but  rather  as  indicating  its  general  scope  and 
tendency  ;  the  true  intent  and  meaning  being  that  instruction  shall  be  care- 
fully provided  for  and  regularly  given  in  this  School  at  least  as  full  and 
thorough  as  is  above  set  forth,  and  substantially  as  there  stated. 

All  the  teaching  must  be  clear,  sharp  and  didactic;  not  uncertain  nor 
languid.  The  students  must  be  taught  and  drilled,  not  lectured  to  without 
care  whether  or  not  attention  is  paid ;  any  lazy  or  incompetent  student 
must  be  dismissed. 

Though  the  special  Curriculum  should  probably  at  first  be  arranged  to 
occupy  three  years,  as  has  been  suggested  above,  this  term  might  hereafter 
be  extended,  or  post-graduate  instruction  introduced,  if  experience  should 
so  dictate. 

The  Dean,  and  Professors  or  Instructors,  are  to  constitute  the  Faculty 
of  the  School,  and  are  to  administer  its  discipline,  as  is  done  by  the  Dean 
and  Faculty  of  the  other  Departments  of  the  University,  subject  to  such 
general  rules  as  shall  from  time  to  time  be  established  for  the  University 
by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

4.  General  tendency  of  Instruction.  This  should  be  such  as  to  inculcate 
and  impress  upon  the  students  :  — ^ 

(a)  The  immorality  and  practical  inexpediency  of  seeking  to  acquire 
wealth  by  winning  it  from  another,  rather  than  by  earning  it  through  some 
sort  of  service  to  one's  fellow-men. 

{p)  The  necessity  of  system  and  accuracy  in  accounts,  of  thoroughness 
in  whatever  is  undertaken,  and  of  strict  fidelity  in  trusts. 

(<r)  Caution  in  contracting  private  debt  directly  or  by  endorsement, 
and  in  incurring  obligation  of  any  kind  ;  punctuality  in  payment  of  debt 
and  in  performance  of  engagements.  Abhorrence  of  repudiation  of  debt,  or 
inconsiderate  incurring  of  public  debt. 

(d)  The  deep  comfort  and  healthfulness  of  pecuniary  independence, 
whether  the  scale  of  affairs  be  small  or  great.  The  consequent  necessity 
of  careful  scrutiny  of  income  and  outgo,  whether  private  or  public,  and  of 
such  management  as  will  cause  the  first  to  exceed,  even  if  but  slightly,  the 
second.  In  national  affairs,  this  applies  not  only  to  the  public  treasury, 
but  also  to  the  mass  of  the  nation,  as  shown  by  the  balance  of  trade. 

(e)  The  necessity  of  rigorously  punishing  by  legal  penalties  and  by  so- 
cial exclusion  those  persons  who  commit  frauds,  betray  trusts,  or  steal 
public  funds,  directly  or  indirectly.  The  fatal  consequences  to  a  community 
of  any  weak  toleration  of  such  offenses  must  be  most  distinctly  pointed  out 
and  enforced. 

(/)  The  fundamental  fact  that  the  United  States  is  a  nation,  composed 
of  populations  wedded  together  for  life,  with  full  power  to  enforce  internal 
obedience,  and  not  a  loose  bundle  of  incoherent  communities  livmg  to- 
gether temporarily  without  other  bond  than  the  humor  of  the  moment. 


34 

(g)  The  necessity  for  each  nation  to  care  for  its  own,  and  to  maintain 
by  all  suitable  means  its  industrial  and  financial  independence;  no  apolo- 
getic or  merely  defensive  style  of  instruction  must  be  tolerated  upon  this 
point,  but  the  right  and  duty  of  national  self-protection  must  be  firmly  as- 
serted and  demonstrated. 

5.  Theses  and  Premiums.  Each  student  intending  to  graduate  should 
prepare  an  original  thesis  upon  some  topic  germane  to  the  instruction  of 
the  school,  such  as  The  great  currents  of  the  world's  exchanges,  past  and 
present ;  The  existing  revenue  system  of  Great  Britain,  France,  Mexico, 
Japan,  or  some  other  modern  nation  ;  The  revenue  system,  at  some  definite 
period,  of  Athens,  Rome,  Venice,  or  other  ancient  or  mediaeval  nation  ; 
The  relative  advantages  of  mono-metallic  and  of  bi-metallic  money  ;  The 
Latin  monetary  union  ;  The  land-credit  banks  of  Germany  ;  Life  insurance, 
tontines,  annuities,  and  endowments;  Reciprocity  and  commercial  trea- 
ties ;  The  nature  of  French  Societes  generales,  anonymes,  and  en  comman- 
dite ;  The  banking  system  past  or  present,  of  some  specified  nation ;  The 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  attempts  by  employers  to  provide  for  the 
wants  of  their  workmen  beyond  payment  of  stipulated  wages. 

In  style  the  theses  should  be  lucid,  terse,  and  sincere,  showing  mastery 
of  the  subject,  with  appropriate  and  logical  arrangement  of  parts,  leading 
up  to  definite  statement  of  conclusions  reached.  The  chirography  must 
be  neat  and  legible. 

For  the  best  thesis,  and  also  for  the  best  general  proficiency  in  the 
studies  taught  in  the  School,  should  be  given  annually  a  gold  medal  weigh- 
ing about  one  ounce,  to  be  called  respectively  "  Founder's  Thesis  Medal," 
and  "  Founder's  Proficiency  Medal,"  the  same  to  be  awarded  by  the  Dean 
and  Professors  or  Instructors  in  council. 

6.  Relations  to  the  University.  This  school  is  intended  to  form  an  in- 
tegral part  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  its  Dean  and  Professors  or 
Instructors  to  be  appointed  by  the  Trustees  of  that  University,  its  func- 
tions to  be  exercised  under  the  general  oversight  of  the  Provost  and  Trus- 
tees, and  its  specific  course  of  instruction  to  be  determined  by  them ;  its 
diplomas  to  be  countersigned  by  him  ;  its  funds,  however,  to  be  kept  abso- 
lutely distinct  from  those  of  the  University,  and  to  be  kept  separately  in- 
vested by  the  Trustees  of  the  University  in  the  name  of  this  School,  to  be 
applied  only  to  its  own  uses  and  not  encroached  upon  in  any  manner  for 
any  debt,  engagement,  need,  or  purpose  of  the  University. 

Since  this  School  will  require  no  house  accommodation  except  for  class 
rooms,  the  use  of  which  it  is  expected  the  University  will  freely  gram,  none 
of  its  funds  must  be  expended  in  building  or  for  rent-paying. 

7.  Financial  Prospectus.  An  endowment  capable  of  yielding  $6000  per 
annum  would  seem  to  be  necessary  and  adequate.  Forty  students,  if  at 
§150  per  annum  each  would  contribute  a  similar  sum. 

From  this  revenue  of  §12,000  per  annum  the  Dean  might  be  paid  S3000, 
and  each  of  the  five  professors  or  Instructors  $1500  per  annum,  thus  con- 
suming $10,500  and  leaving  S1500  per  annum  from  which  to  accumulate 
gradually  a  Safety  Fund  equal  to  at  least  one  year's  expenses,  also  to  buy 
books  and  to  pay  for  premiums  and  for  publication  of  treatises.  The 
interest  of  this  Safety  Fund  might  properly  be  applied  to  pay  to  the  Treas- 


35 

uryof  the  School  for  the  tuition  of  tliose  admitted  to  free  scholarships;  the 
number  of  which  would  thus  be  limited  by  the  amount  of  such  interest,  but, 
besides  the  other  requisites  for  admission,  sound  physical  health  and  high 
probability  of  life  must  be  indispensable  conditions  for  the  enjoyment  of  a 
free  scholarship. 

Before  so  many  as  forty  students  are  in  attendance  the  number  of  in- 
structors may  be  reduced  by  running  the  subjects  together.  When  more 
than  forty  attend,  the  instruction  may  be  expanded,  the  salaries  advanced, 
or  the  Safety  Fund  increased,  as  the  Trustees  may  think  most  expedient. 
During  the  first  years,  before  all  the  classes  are  under  tuition,  the  in- 
struction will  naturally  be  condensed,  fewer  Professors  or  Instructors  per- 
haps be  required,  and  the  Safety  Fund  thus  have  opportunity  for  accumula- 
tion. It  is  not  expected  that  the  University  shall  consume  its  own  means 
for  the  support  of  this  School,  further  than  to  provide  class  rooms. 

The  School  must  exemplify  its  teachings  by  always  keeping  its  expenses 
surely  within  its  income,  except  that  in  emergencies  it  may  consume  any 
part  of  the  principal  of  the  Safety  Fund,  the  same  to  be  afterward  replaced 
as  soon  as  practicable. 


3G 


Proceedings  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association  Relative  to 
Address  of  Professor  James,  and  upon  the  Founding  of 

SCHOOLS  OF  FINANCE  AND  ECONOMY. 


First  Day,  September   Third,  Page  42  of  "  Proceedings." 

President  Charles  Parsons  in  the  Chair: 

Mr.  Butts — Before  we  proceed  further  I  desire  to  state  that  we  have 
listened  with  great  pleasure  to  the  able  and  interesting  paper  of  Professor 
James,  and  I  think  this  Convention  would  do  itself  justice  in  tendering  to 
him  a  vote  of  thanks  and  directing  that  his  paper  be  printed.  I  make  that 
motion. 

Mr.  R.  M.  Nelson — I  second  that  motion. 

Mr.  N.  B.  Van  Slyke — I  would  suggest  an  amendment,  that  the  Secre- 
tary be  directed  to  publish  2000  copies  of  Mr.  James'  paper  for  circulation 
among  our  members. 

Mr.  Butts — I  accept  that  amendment. 

Mr.  Wm.  H.  Rhawn — I  would  suggest  that  there  be  no  restriction 
placed  upon  the  Secretary  as  to  the  number  of  copies  to  be  printed.  Let 
that  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  Executive  Council. 

Mr.  Van  Slyke — I  have  no  objection  to  that,  and  being  located  where 
the  State  University  is  situated  in  Wisconsin,  I  have  presented  this  same 
subject  there. 

The  President — then  the  motion  is,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Convention 
be  tendered  to  Professor  James  for  his  address,  and  that  the  Executive 
Council  be  requested  to  publish  a  sufficient  number  of  copies  not  in  the 
regular  report  for  distribution  among  members. 

Mr.  Rhawn — I  think,  in  order  to  make  that  more  complete,  that  the 
plan  of  the  Wharton  School  should  be  published  with  the  paper. 

Mr.  Butts — I  will  include  that  in  my  motion. 

The  President — Gentlemen,  you  all  understand  the  motion.  All  in 
favor  of  it  will  vote  Aye.     Carried. 

Second  Day,  September  Fourt/i,  Pages  6^-68  of ''  Proceedings." 

Mr.  Rhawn — Now,  if  is  in  order,  I  would  like  to  offer  a  resolution  to 
be  referred  to  the  Executive  Council. 

The  President — It  is  not  in  regular  order,  but  if  there  is  no  objection 
you  may  offer  it  now. 

Mr.  Rhawn — I  take  much  satisfaction  to  myself  for  the  appearance  of 
Professor  James  before  the  Convention  yesterday,  inasmuch  as  I  was  to 
some  extent  instrumental  in  getting  him  here  ;  and  I  was  greatly  pleased 
that  the  Convention  should  not  only  have  unanimously  voted  him  the 
thanks  of  this  Association  for  his  admirable  address,  but  ordered  it  to  be 
printed,  with  the  plan  of  the  Wharton  School  in  separate,  pamphlet  form, 
as  well  as  with  the  regular  Proceedings  of  the  Convention,  thereby  manifest- 


37 

ing  the  deep  interest  felt  in  the  subject  by  the  Association,  in  regard  to 
which  I  desire  to  offer  a  couple  of  resolutions  for  reference  to  the  Execu- 
tive Council,  prefacing  them  with  two  paragraphs  from  the  closing  remarks 
of  Professor  James : 

"  The  ideal  of  the  Faculty,  it  may  be  said,  is  a  great  institution,  com- 
prising many  different  courses,  one  looking  to  business,  another  to  journal- 
ism, still  another  to  politics,  another  to  the  university — all  composed  alike 
of  two  elements:  a  common  one,  consisting  of  such  studies  as  political 
economy,  constitutional  law,  politics,  history,  etc, ;  and  a  professional  one, 
embracing  such  special  instructions  as  may  be  of  aid  in  preparing  the  stu- 
dents for  their  particular  careers.  The  business  course  itself  should  be 
subdivided  according  to  the  intention  of  the  student,  and  should  comprise 
not  merely  the  fundamental  branches  we  now  have,  but  many  others,  such 
as  railroading,  commerce,  insurance,  etc." 

"  An  institution  like  this,  with  a  curriculum  based  upon  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  our  own  vernacular,  its  use,  literature,  history,  etc.,  with  such 
other  languages,  ancient  or  modern,  as  the  student  might  choose  to  take, 
and  all  based  on  a  thorough  elementary  training  in  languages,  mathematics 
and  natural  science,  would  be  an  addition  to  our  educational  system  com- 
parable in  importance  and  influence  only  to  the  great  system  of  technical 
schools  which  in  a  different  field  are  revolutionizing  our  American  educa- 
tion. It  would  give  us  also  the  best  system  of  training  for  business,  jour- 
nalism, teaching — in  a  word  for  citizenship,  which  the  world  has  yet  seen. 
It  would  make  the  man  or  men,  the  family  or  the  community  who  estab- 
lished it  immortal  in  the  educational  history — not  merely  in  this  country 
but  of  the  world.  Who  shall  be  the  first  to  utilize  this  magnificent  chance.' 
We  have  begun  to  cultivate  one  corner  of  the  field  in  Philadelphia,  and 
shall  press  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  its  full  occupation,  but  shall 
also  rejoice  in  the  meantime  if  some  other  place  outstrips  us  in  this  gener- 
ous race  for  the  highest  position  in  this  great  work." 

The  resolutions  which  I  wish  to  offer  are  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  "That  the  American  Bankers'  Association  most  earnestly  commends  not  only  to  the 
bankers  but  to  all  intelligent  and  progressive  citizens  throughout  our  country  the  founding  of 
schools  of  finance  and  economy  for  the  business  training  of  our  children,  to  be  established  in  con- 
nection with  the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  land,  upon  a  like  general  plan  as  that  of  the 
Whaiton  School  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  so  ably  set  forth  by  Professor  James  in  his 
most  admirable  address  before  this  Association  ;  and,  as  was  so  well  stated  by  Professor  James,  the 
establishment  of  a  great  institution  for  the  business  training  and  education,  such  as  he  most  vividly 
portrayed,  would  give  us  the  best  system  of  training  for  business,  journalism — in  a  word,  for  citizen- 
ship, which  the  world  has  yet  seen,  and  would  make  the  man  or  the  men,  the  family  or  community 
who  established  it  immortal,  not  merely  of  this  country,  but  of  the  world,  and,  as  the  founding  of 
such  an  institution  is  a  work  which  should  peculiarly  commend  itself  to  the  most  serious  considera- 
tion of  the  American  banker,  therefore, 

Resolved,  "  That  the  Executive  Council  is  hereby  directed  to  carefully  consider  and  devise  a 
feasible  plan  whereby  this  Association  may  enter  upon  or  promote  such  work,  and  report  upon 
the  same  at  the  next  Convention." 

A  Member — I  second  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Rhawn. 

The  President — Mr.  Atkinson  is  intimately  acquainted  with  this  sub- 
ject, and,  if  agreeable,  he  will  say  a  word  or  two  about  it. 

Mr.  Edward  Atkinson — Gentlemen,  I  am  delighted  to  see  a  move  of 
this  sort  brought  before  you.  I  desire  to  say  a  word  to  sustain  it.  I  have 
been  until  the  present  year  for  more  than  twenty  years  a  director  in  the 


38 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  My  brother,  lately  deceased,  was 
the  professor  of  English,  It  had  been  a  hobby  of  ours  for  many  years  to  es- 
tablish a  branch  of  training  for  the  higher  education  of  young  men  for  com- 
mercial life.  We  were  qualified,  most  of  us,  to  direct  that  institution  by  what 
we  did  not  know,  more  than  by  what  we  _did,  but  what  we  ought  to  have 
known  in  order  to  have  been  prepared  to  conduct  our  own  business.  For 
more  than  twenty  years  I  have  been  in  correspondence  notably  with  Pro- 
fessor Hodgson,  now  deceased,  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  where  they 
had  a  distinct  branch  of  this  sort,  and  with  other  prominent  educators. 
We  have,  both  in  the  Institute  of  Technology  and  in  the  Harvard  College 
elective  courses  of  instruction  which  have  been  framed  with  this  motive  in 
view.  A  backbone  of  science  and  of  languages  coupled  with  instruction  in 
commercial  geography  and  geology,  and  in  English,  with  lectures  on  the 
principles  of  the  law  of  contracts  and  all  the  preliminary  methods  of  stud- 
ies, but  they  are  as  yet  departments.  There  is  room  and  a  field  for  separate 
schools  like  that  of  the  Wharton  School  attached  to  universities,  and  I  am 
delighted  to  see  this  movement  made  to  extend  the  functions  of  education 
in  the  directions  in  which  I  myself  and  many  of  my  friends  have  been  work- 
ing most  arduously  for  very  many  years.     (Applause.) 

Mr.  Morton  McMichael  of  Philadelphia — The  Association  owes  to 
the  good  judgment,  energy  and  careof  Mr.  Rhawn  the  fact  that  this  matter 
of  business  schools  has  been  brought  to  its  attention  so  clearly,  and  much 
is  yet  to  be  learned  on  the  subject.  One  point  which  has  not  been  alluded 
to  strikes  me  as  of  no  small  importance — that  is  the  moral  effect  on  the 
students.  Young  men  carefully  trained  for  years  to  look  with  shame  and 
contempt  upon  the  slightest  deviation  from  strict  integrity  in  any  transac- 
tion would,  I  believe,  acquire  a  very  firm  foundation  of  honesty,  making 
them  exceptionally  trustworthy  in  positions  of  responsibility.  The  lad  who 
enters  West  Point  is  no  braver  than  his  fellows,  but  years  of  constant  teaching 
that  personal  honor  is  all  important  and  that  its  highest  expression  is' 
unfaltering  courage  and  unswerving  fidelity  to  duty,  instils  into  his  be- 
ing a  quality  which  makes  him  a  braver  man  in  the  face  of  danger,  and 
one  more  certain  to  carry  out  his  orders  without  counting  the  cost  to 
himself. 

So,  I  am  satisfied,  men  educated  in  such  colleges  as  are  proposed  would 
have  a  greater  fund  of  strength  to  resist  temptations  which  so  often  lead  to 
ruin  and  disgrace. 

Mr.  Thompson  of  Tacoma,  Wash. — I  desire  to  submit  this  proposition. 
I  come  from  the  extreme  West,  from  a  section  which  is  to  be  the  scat  of 
great  industrial  and  commercial  activity.  I  am  not  a  college  man.  I  wish 
I  were.  But  observation  has  taught  me  that  in  the  colleges  and  universities 
there  are  vast  stores  of  knowledge  to  be  obtained,  but  not  that  kind  of 
knowledge  which  permits  of  application  to  the  business  affairs  of  life.  If 
I  understand  the  object  of  these  schools,  it  is  to  teach  men  to  apply  the 
knowledge  they  gather  in  the  colleges  to  the  business  affairs  of  life.  That 
is  what  we  need.  It  is  the  making  of  practical  men.  I  thoroughly  advo- 
cate this  measure.  I  would  like  to  see  in  the  State  of  Washington  a  school 
of  this  sort  become  a  part  of  our  State  University,  and  it  shall  certainly  be- 
come a  part  of  my  business  to  advocate  this  work.     I  do  not  believe  this 


39 

Convention  can  do  better  than  to  take  up  subjects  of  this  kind,  and  I  am 
glad  we  have  had  Mr.  Atkinson  here  to-day  to  confirm  this,  as  well  as  Pro- 
fessor James  yesterday.  I  hope  the  resolution  will  be  carried  unanimously, 
and  that  it  will  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  future  conventions. 

The  President — Gentlemen,  you  have  heard  the  resolution.  All  in 
favor  of  adoption  will  vote  Aye. 

Adopted  unanimously. 

Third  Day,  September  Fifth,  Pages  103-106  "  Proceedings." 

Mr.  Wm.  H.  Rhawn — I  have  a  short  report  from  the  Executive  Council, 
which  I  will  read,  as  follows: 

In  reference  to  the  resolution  offered  by  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Rhawn,  the  Exec- 
utive Council  unanimously  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following  by 
the  Convention : 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Bankers'  Association  most  earnestly  commends,  not  only  to  the 
bankers,  but  to  all  intelligent  and  progressive  citizens  throughout  the  country,  the  founding  oi. 
Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy,  for  the  business  training  of  youth,  to  be  established  in  connec- 
tion with  the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  land,  upon  a  general  plan  like  that  of  the  Wharton 
School  of  Finance  and  Economy  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  so  ably  set  forth  by  Professor 
James  in  his  most  admirable  address  before  this  Convention. 

Resolved,  That  the  Executive  Council  is  hereby  directed  to  carefully  consider,  and,  if  possible, 
devise  some  feasible  plan  whereby  this  Association  may  encourage  or  promote  the  organization  oc 
a  School  or  of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  among  our  institutions  of  learning,  and  report 
upon  the  same  to  the  next  Convention. 

On  motion,  the  report  was  adopted. 


Committee  on   Schools  of  Finance  and   Econojny  appointed  by  Execuizvi 

CouJicil. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council  held  at  the  close  of  the  ConveiT- 
tion  on  September  5,  the  foregoing  resolutions  were  referred  to  the  follow- 
ing named  Committee,  appointed  by  Mr.  Charles  Parsons,  Chairman  pro- 
tem.,  as  a  Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy :  William  H 
Rhawn,  Chairman,  President  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  Philadelphia; 
George  S.  Coe,  President  American  Exchange  National  Bank,  New  York; 
Lyman  J.  Gage,  Vice-President  First  National  Bank,  Chicago;  Morton 
McMichael,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Philadelphia;  and  Asa  P.  Potter^ 
President  Maverick  National  Bank,  Boston. 


EDUCATIOH  OF  BUSINESS  HEII.-II. 

EXECUTIVE  COUNCIL; 

AMERICAN  BANKERS'  ASSOCIATION. 

Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy. 

Philadelphia,  February  i,  1892. 

At  the  Convention  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association  held  at  New  Orleans, 
November  11  and  12,  1891,  the  Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  pre- 
sented a  report  which  included  a  large  number  of  letters  received  from  bankers  and 
educators  manifesting  the  interest  felt  by  them  in  the  movement  of  the  Association 
for  the  extension  of  the  Wharton  School  idea  in  the  establishment  of  Schools  of 
Finance  and  Economy. 

The  report  was  unanimously  accepted  and  the  appointment  of  a  Standing  Com- 
mittee upon  the  subject  was  authorized  and  directed,  as  was  the  publication  of  the 
more  important  letters  or  extracts  therefrom,  which  are  here  presented  by  the  Stand- 
ing Committee  with  the  report  and  the  action  of  the  Convention  thereon,  reprinted 
from  its  Proceedings, 

The  r^port  suggests  that  the  Association  should  cause  an  examination  to  be  made 
into  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  abroad  by  sending  some  eminent  man  of  learning 
to  Europe  for  the  purpose,  who  would  give  the  result  of  his  investigations  in  an  address 
before  a  convention  of  the  Association. 

The  Committee  is  persuaded  of  the  great  value  of  this  suggestion  and  of  the 
important  results  that  would  follow  upon  its  being  carried  into  effect,  and  is  prepared 
to  act  upon  it  when  duly  authorized  by  the  Executive  Council. 

William  H.  Rhawn, 

Chairfnan. 


From  the  Proceedings  of  the  Convention  of  the  American  Bankers' 
Association  at  New  Orleans,  Session  of  November  12,  1S91. 

REPORT   OF   COMMITTEE   ON   SCHOOLS  OF  FINANCE  AND  ECONOMY. 

Mr.  Knox — The  Executive  Council  also  desire  to  report  progress  in  reference  to  a 
resolution  referred  to  them  on  the  subject  of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy,  and 
request  Mr.  Rhawn,  a  member  of  the  Council,  to  make  a  report  in  reference  thereto. 

W.  H.  Rhawn,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. — This  is  a  report  from  the  Committee  upon 
Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy,  made  to  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Association 
at  its  meeting  yesterday,  and  which  the  Executive  Council  directed  me  to  read  to  this 
Convention. 

New  Orleans,  La.,  November  10,  1891. 
To  the  Executive  Council, 

Ainerican  Bankers  Assoczatt'on. 
Gentlemen  : 

The  Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy,  appointed  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Executive  Council  held  at  the  close  of  the  last  Convention  of  the  Association  at 
Saratoga,  September  5,  1890,  respectfully  beg  leave  to  report  as  follows  : 

There  were  referred  to  the  Committee  the  following  resolutions  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  Convention,  without  specific  instructions  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  American  Bankers'  Association  most  earnestly  commends,  not 
only  to  the  bankers,  but  to  all  intelligent  and  progressive  citizens  throughout  the 
country,  the  founding  of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy,  for  the  business  training  of 
youth,  to  be  established  in  connection  with  the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  land, 
upon  a  general  plan  like  that  of  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  of 


the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  so  ably  set  forth  by  Professor  James  in  his  most  admir- 
able address  before  this  Convention. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Executive  Council  is  hereby  directed  to  carefully  consider, 
and,  if  possible,  devise  some  feasible  plan  whereby  this  Association  may  encourage 
or  promote  the  organization  of  a  School  or  of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  among 
our  institutions  of  learning,  and  report  upon  the  same  to  the  next  Convention." 

Under  these  resolutions  the  Committee  published  on  January  i,  1891,  a  pamphlet 
of  forty  pages  entitled  "  Education  of  Business  Men,"  containing  the  Address  of  Pro- 
fessor Edmund  J.  James,  Ph.  D.,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  upon  Schools  of  Finance 
and  Economy,  delivered  by  request  before  the  American  Bankers'  Association  at 
Saratoga,  September  3,  1890  ;  the  Plan  of  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  ;  and  the  Proceedings  of  the  Association  relative  to 
the  Address  of  Professor  James  and  upon  the  Founding  of  Schools  of  Finance  and 
Economy ;  prefaced  with  an  address  of  the  Committee  respectfully  inviting  from  the 
members  of  the  Association  and  bankers  generally,  and  from  all  the  friends  of  the 
cause  of  education,  such  expressions  of  opinion  and  suggestions  as  might  aid  the  Com- 
mittee in  its  work  under  the  resolutions. 

Copies  of  the  pamphlet  were  mailed  to  all  banks  and  bankers  as  well  as  members 
of  the  Association,  to  leading  newspapers  and  journals,  and  to  the  universities  and 
colleges  of  the  land.  Additional  copies  were  also  sent  to  the  universities  and  colleges 
on  October  8th,  with  a  special  circular  addressed  to  them  renewing  the  request  for 
expressions  of  opinion  as  to  the  value  and  feasibility  of  establishing  a  School  or  Schools 
of  Finance  and  Economy. 

In  response  to  these  pamphlets  and  circulars  as  well  as  to  the  earlier  pamphlets 
containing  the  Plan  of  the  Wharton  School  sent  in  1889-90,  encouraging  notices  have 
appeared  in  the  press  and  a  large  number  of  letters  have  been  received  from  bankers 
and  educators,  including  some  of  the  most  distinguished,  in  which  the  founding  of 
Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  is  most  highly  commended  and  urged  in  the  strong- 
est terms. 

These  letters  show  that  the  increasing  necessity  for  such  schools  in  connection 
with  the  higher  educational  institutions  is  becoming  generally  recognized  by  those  best 
qualified  to  judge  of  their  great  value  and  importance,  and  a  model  being  furnished  in 
the  Wharton  School,  the  establishment  of  a  similar  school  by  each  of  our  universities 
and  colleges  may  be  expected  to  follow  as  fast  as  the  means  for  the  purpose  can  be 
secured.  The  work  of  the  Association,  begun  by  the  Executive  Council  two  years 
ago  in  presenting  and  commending  the  Wharton  School  idea,  is  thus  already  bearing 
fruit,  and  it  only  remains  to  devise  some  feasible  plan  whereby  the  Association  may 
further  encourage  and  promote  it. 

As  the  Association  is  organized  it  is,  at  this  time,  difficult  to  present  any  definite 
plan  by  which  it  may  immediately  promote  the  founding  of  a  great  institution  such  as 
Professor  James  described  as  the  ideal  of  theFacuhyof  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  founding  of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  generally  among  our  institutions 
of  learning,  further  than  to  recommend  that  the  Association,  having  taken  the  subject  up, 
indorsed  it  and  presented  it  to  the  bankers,  educators  and  press  of  the  country,  by 
whom  it  has  been  most  favorably  received,  shall  continue  to  make  such  presentment  of 
the  subject  a  part  of  its  regular  work  for  the  future,  until  the  idea  shall  become  indelibly 
impressed  upon  the  intelligent  and  wealthy  and  its  great  importance  shall  be  fully  recog- 
nized and  accepted  by  all  interested  in  the  great  cause  of  education. 

The  founding  of  such  institutions  is  one  of  the  inestimable  privileges  of  those  of 
great  wealth,  but  it  has  been  and  may  still  be  the  privilege  of  the  American  Bankers' 
Association  to  point  the  way  to  such  grand  schemes  of  beneficence  and  thus  aid  in  their 
encouragement  and  promotion.  But  one  School  of  Finance  and  Econony  has  so  far 
been  presented  as  an  example  or  model  for  emulation,  the  Wharton  School,  being  the 
first  and  perhaps  the  only  one  of  its  kind  in  this  country.  Would  it  not  !)e  well  for  the 
Association  to  cause  an  examination  to  be  made  into  such  schools  abroad  by  sending 
some  eminent  man  of  learning  to  Europe  for  the  purpose,  who  would  give  us  the  result 
of  his  investigations  in  an  address  at  a  future  convention,  from  which  it  would  go  forth 
to  the  world?  In  this  manner  the  Association  could,  at  small  cost,  do  inestimable 
service  to  the  cause  it  seeks  to  promote — the  Education  of  Business  Men, 

Doubtless  the  way  would  be  opened  for  further  usefulness  u])on  the  part  of  the  Asso- 
ciation in  this  most  interesting  field,  upon  which  it  has  so  far  entered.     The  results 


already  achieved  are  sufficient  to  encourage  the  continuance  of  the  good  work,  and  it  is, 
therefore,  recommended  by  this  Committee  that  the  Executive  Council  shall  annually, 
upon  its  organization,  appoint  a  standing  committee  of  five,  to  be  known  as  the  Com- 
mittee on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy,  which  shall  be  sjiecially  charged  with  all 
matters  relating  to  the  encouragement  and  promotion  of  Schools  of  Finance  and 
Economy,  and  to  which  all  such  matters  shall  be  referred,  which  committee  shall  report 
prior  to  the  Annual  Convention  or  oftener,  as  may  be  required. 

The  letters  herein  referred  to  are  made  a  part  of  this  report,  and  it  is  recommended 
that  some  of  the  more  important,  or  extracts  therefrom,  shall  be  included  in  any  pubH- 
cation  of  the  report  that  may  be  directed. 

William  H.  Rhawn, 

George  S.  Coe. 

Lyman  J.  Gage. 

Morton  McMichael. 

Resolution  unanimously  adopted  by  Executive  Council,  New  Orleans, 

November  id,  1891. 
Resolved,  That  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy 
be  accepted  and  read  to  the  Convention,  and  that  its  recommendations,  including  the 
appointment  of  a  standing  committee  of  the  Executive  Council  and  the  publication  of 
letters  or  extracts  therefrom,  be  reported  to  the  Convention  for  adoption. 

Resolution  reported  from  Executive  Council  to  the  Convention. 
Resolved,  That  the  Executive  Council  is  authorized  and  directed  to  appoint  a 
standing  committee  ot  five  to  carry  out  the  recommendations  made  in  the  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy, 

On  motion,  the  report  was  accepted  and  the  resolution  unanimously  adopted.* 

LETTERS   AND   EXTRACTS   FROM    LETTERS  ABOVE  REFERRED  TO. 

GEORGE  A.   BUTLER,   PRESIDENT  NATIONAL  TRADESMEN'S   BANK,   NEW 

HAVEN,    CONN. 

1  have  received  your  letter  inclosing  the  plan  of  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance, 
and  inviting  an  expression  of  my  opinion  as  to  the  desirability  of  having  similar  schools 
connected  with  the  various  institutions  of  learning  throughout  the  country'.  I  do  not  see 
how  there  can  be  two  opinions  about  it.  The  only  question  is  just  what  their  character 
shall  be.  Yale  and  Harvard  Universities  have  a  very  comprehensive  course  on  political 
economy  which  embraces  banking  and  finance.  I  do  not  feel  competent  just  at  present 
to  express  an  opinion  as  to  whether  they  could  be  improved  in  the  line  you  mention,  by 
more  special  work  in  banking  and  finance.  There  are  a  large  number  of  institutions 
where  little  or  nothing  is  done.  To  my  mind,  these  institutions  are  lacking  in  one  of  the 
most  important  departments  of  knowledge.  Our  Association  can  do  no  better  work 
than  to  call  attention  to  the  matter  and  do  all  that  can  be  done  to  have  them  establish 
a  department  on  finance. 

J.  EDWARD  SIMMONS,  PRESIDENT   FOURTH   NATIONAL   BANK,  NEW   YORK. 

Replying  to  your  favor  containing  a  request  that  I  express  my  opinion  upon  the 
extension  of  the  Wharton  School  idea  which  the  American  Bankers'  Association  has 
taken  up. 

Any  institution  which  has  for  its  purpose  "  the  training  of  young  men  to  be  masters 
and  directors  in  business  "  surely  must  be  worthy  of  support,  and  I  unhesitatingly 
commend  any  curriculum  of  study  which  develops  the  faculties  needed  in  business  life. 

LOGAN    H.    ROOTS,    PRESIDENT    ARKANSAS   LOAN   AND  TRUST   COMPANY,    LITTLE 

ROCK,  ARK. 
I  am  interested  in  the  subject.  I  did  not  before  fully  appreciate  the  generous  gift 
of  Mr.  Wharton.  I  think  that  the  movement  should  be  encouraged,  and  upon  the  prac- 
tical, conservative  methods  suggested  by  the  report  of  the  Committee  it  does  seem  to 
me  a  steady  growth  of  the  schools  with  favorable  sentiments  and  liberal  endowments 
may  be  assured. 

*  The  Executive  Council  appointed  as  Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  ;  William  H.  Rhawn, 
Chairman  :  George  S.  Coe,  Lyman  J.  Gage,  Morton  McMichael  and  George  A.  Butler. 


4 

T.   H.   HINCHMAN,    PRESIDENT    MERCHANTS'    AND    MANUFACTURERS'    NATIONAL 

BANK,   DETROIT. 

Practical  education,  or  technical  instruction,  is  the  need  of  the  time.  It  should  be 
part  of  the  regular  course  in  every  university  to  teach  the  proposed  studies.  There  are 
no  subjects  of  more  practical  importance  (save  one)  than  finance  or  economics,  revenue, 
taxation  and  industrial  science  that  shall  be  taught  from  a  foundation  of  ascertained 
facts,  rather  than  philosophically  or  theoretically. 

FRANK  W.  TRACY,   PRESIDENT     FIRST   NATIONAL   BANK,    SPRINGFIELD,   ILL. 

I  congratulate  you  in  starting  a  movement  which  must  result  in  great  benefit  not 
only  to  the  present  generation,  but  to  generations  unborn.  Too  many  of  our  business 
men  of  to-day  are  ignorant  of  the  first  principles  of  finance  or  political  economy.  This 
movement  for  "  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  "  certainly  is  well  timed. 

S.  K.  SNEED,  PRESIDENT  HENDERSON  STATE  LINE  RAILROAD  CO.,  HENDERSON,  KY. 
Your  favor  regarding  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  is  just  received,  for  which 
I  thank  you.  I  have  read  with  a  great  deal  of  interest  your  resolution  passed  by  the 
Executive  Council,  and  the  Appendix  A  of  Mr.  Wharton's  proposition,  I  am  in  hearty 
accord  with  the  spirit  of  your  resolution  and  am  glad  to  express  my  entire  approval  of 
the  Committee  appointed  under  it.  Some  such  movement  is  not  only  timely,  but  of  the 
greatest  importance. 

M.  M.  WHITE,  PRESIDENT  FOURTH  NATIONAL  BANK,  CINCINNATI. 
I  have  received  your  valued  favor  with  pamphlet  relating  to  Schools  of  Finance.  I 
have  carefully  read  and  am  in  hearty  favor  of  the  same,  but  do  not  think  I  can  add 
anything  to  its  completeness.  I  have  the  pleasure  of  inclosing  a  letter  from  Joseph 
John  Mills,  President  of  Earlham  College,  Richmond,  Ind.,  who  is  considered  one  of 
the  most  able  educators  in  the  West,  formerly  Superintendent  of  State  Instruction  of 
Indiana,  whose  indorsement  I  very  highly  respect. 

JOSEPH  J.  MILLS,  A.  M.,  PRESIDENT  EARLHAM   COLLEGE,   RICHMOND,   IND. 

I  have  for  years  been  heartily  in  sympathy  with  every  reasonable  effort  to  educate 
the  rising  generation  in  the  direction  of  the  practical  industries  of  life.  There  is  cer- 
tainly room  for  more  schools  like  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy,  and 
the  conditions  for  success  in  such  an  enterprise  are  not  less  favorable  in  the  Ohio  Valley 
than  they  are  east  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains.  The  large  number  of  banking  institutions 
of  various  grades  and  characters,  not  only  in  our  large  cities,  but  in  our  countr)'  towns  as 
well,  ought  to  afford  a  liberal  patronage  for  such  a  department  of  instruction  as  soon  as 
its  utility  should  become  generally  understood.  With  a  sufficient  endowment  fund  and 
a  corps  of  competent  teachers — themselves  practical  business  men — I  should  expect  it 
not  only  to  succeed,  but  to  become  an  eminently  useful  school. 

HOEL  H.  CAMP,  PRESIDENT  FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK,  MILWAUKEE,  WIS, 
I  have  been  greatly  interested — much  more  than  I  had  expected  I  could  be — in  the 
enterprise  Mr.  Wharton  has  set  agoing ;  it  covers  a  branch  of  practical  education 
which  commends  itself  without  argument  to  all  considerate  minds,  and  it  would  seem 
that  no  college,  as  an  university,  can  afford  to  be  without  something  of  the  kind  after 
the  subject  has  been  properly  considered. 

EDWARD  BETTS,  PRESIDENT  FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK,   WILMINGTON,   DEL. 

No  one,  I  think,  can  doubt  that  great  advantage  in  the  future  must  ensue  from  Mr. 
Wharton's  very  liberal  gift  to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  it  is  certainly  very 
desirable  that  other  wealthy  men  should  follow  his  example. 

His  plans  seem  carefully  considered  and  digested  and  must  have  been  the  result  of 
much  thought  and  study. 

SAMUEL  COLLYER,  CASHIER  MERCHANTS'  NATIONAL  BANK,  TACOMA,  WASH. 
I  am  entirely  in  accord  with  the  views  of  those  who  desire  the  establishment  of 
Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy. 

C.  M.  SELEY,  PRESIDENT  WACO  STATE   BANK,   WACO,   TEXAS. 

The  object  is  a  worthy  one,  and,  if  carried  out,  will  furnish  an  opportunity  to  many 
young  men  to  obtain  a  thorough  discipline  of  mind  and  a  knowledge  of  the  principles 


of  finance  and  political  economy  and  prepare  to  become  useful  members  of  society. 
I  think  it  would  be  well  that  the  "  VVharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  "  be 
made  a  tinishin;^  school,  where  young  men  who  have  acquired  a  general  knowledge  of 
the  principal  points  on  these  subjects  at  tiie  schools  and  colleges  of  our  country  can 
be  admitted  upon  examination.  Let  the  term  of  time  not  be  too  long  and  the  expenses 
not  too  hea\y,  that  the  advantages  may  be  within  reach  of  many. 

JOSEPH  F.  JOHNSTON,  PRESIDENT  ALABAMA  NATIONAL  BANK,  BIRMINGHAM. 
I  am  very  glad  to  see  you,  and  the  Association,  through  you,  taking  action  in  the 
matter  referred  to.  It  has  often  occurred  to  me  that  there  were  no  proper  schools 
where  a  matter  of  such  vital  importance  as  finance  was  taught.  It  seems  to  have  been 
considered  that  any  one  who  had  made  a  little  money  was  a  master  of  finance  and 
could  be  intrusted  with  the  administration  of  great  institutions.  I  shall  be  very  glad 
indeed  to  see  this  discussed  and  considered  until  there  shall  be  such  a  general  con- 
sensus of  opinion  that  it  will  provide  proper  schools  throughout  the  country. 

HENRY   W.   YATES,    PRESIDENT   NEBRASKA   NATIONAL   BANK,   OMAHA. 

I  am  much  impressed  with  the  scheme  presented  of  founding  Schools  of  Finance  and 
Economy  in  connection  with  our  universities.  At  an  early  period  in  our  educational 
history,  only  one  fixed  course  was  open  to  the  student  at  our  universities,  and  this, 
while  it  supplied  the  desires  of  those  with  scholarly  tastes  for  the  various  classical  and 
other  learned  branches,  hardly  fitted  our  young  men  for  the  earnest,  active  business 
life  before  them,  and  experience  has  continually  shown  the  college  graduates  at  a  great 
disadvantage  in  competition  with  those  possessing  only  a  common  school  education. 
This  system  has  practically  followed  to  the  present  time,  except  that  in  later  years  a 
scientific  course  has  been  added — which,  however,  is  equally  ineffective  for  utility  in 
real  business  and  commercial  life.  Such  schools  as  you  now  suggest,  covering  the 
numerous  branches  named  in  Mr.  Wharton's  scheme,  would  seem  the  necessity  of  our 
age,  and  the  wonder  is  why  they  have  not  long  ago  been  ingrafted  upon  our  educa- 
tional system.  The  real  education  in  business  life  must  now  follow  the  university  or 
college  course,  and  be  obtained  only  in  the  dear  school  of  experience — why  may  not 
the  college  course  be  made  the  beginning  of  the  real  education  of  the  man  for  the 
place  he  is  to  fill  in  life .'' 

J.  W,  HOLLENBACK,    PRESIDENT    PEOPLE'S    BANK,  WILKESBARRE,  PA. 

The  subject  is  a  broad  one  and  of  general  use  to  all  classes  as  well  as  to  bankers 
and  officers  of  all  sorts  of  companies  and  associations.  I  do  not  feel  able  to  enlarge 
upon  nor  to  suggest  new  and  valuable  ideas  connected  with  this  subject,  not  already 
set  forth  in  Mr.  Wharton's  "  Project."  Young  men  should  not  only  be  taught  in  our 
universities  and  colleges  much  on  these  subjects,  but  it  would  be  well  that  an  outline 
of  the  science  or  practice  of  economy,  and  consequently  of  sound  finance,  should  be 
taught  in  our  public  schools  to  young  men  and  young  women  as  well.  The  amount 
of  ignorant  waste  in  private  and  household  management  among  our  laboring  classes 
is  fearful ;  and  something  should  be  done  to  educate  the  teachers  of  the  masses,  and 
finally  the  masses  of  our  population,  of  both  sexes,  on  the  careful  use  of,  and  the  provi- 
sion of  both  an  income  and  its  investment  for  present  and  future  needs. 

G.  A.    LEVI,   OF   A.    LEVI   &   CO.,    CANKERS,    VICTORIA,    TEXAS, 

Ever  since  I  received  the  pamphlet  giving  the  plan  of  the  Wharton  School,  I  have 
given  the  matter  my  most  serious  consideration,  and  have  fully  determined  to  bring  the 
same  to  the  consideration  of  the  Texas  bankers,  by  favorable  mention  in  my  message, 
as  President  of  "The  Texas  Bankers'  Association,"  to  the  next  Convention  to  be  held 
in  May  next.  In  the  meantime,  with  the  view  to  enlisting  the  co-operation  of  the 
Faculty  of  the  "  University  of  Texas,"  and  the  Regents  of  the  "  Texas  A.  and  M. 
College,"  I  have  addressed  communications  to  the  proper  authorities,  urging  that  such 
a  sub-department  be  added  to  those  institutions  of  learning. 

N.  B.  VAN  SLYKE,  PRESIDENT    FIRST   NATIONAL    BANK,  MADISON,  WIS, 

I  am  pleased  to  inform  you  that  the  State  University  of  Wisconsin  has  established 
the  Department  of  Finance  and  Economy,  the  result  of  advising  every  member  of  the 
Board  of  Regents  and  members  of  the  Faculty  by  a  timely  distribution  of  the  address 
of  Professor  James.  Thinking  that  the  action  taken  by  the  Regents  may  have  some 
influence  with  other  institutions  of  like  character,  and  that  through  you  as  an  advocate 


and  Professor  James  as  a  teacher  it  may  be  of  use  to  know  just  what  has  been  done 
here  in  the  way  of  carrj'ing  out  the  idea  of  educating  young  men  in  the  btiszness  of  the 
world — Finance  and  Economy,  I  hand  you  herewith  a  copy  of  proceedings  evidencing 
that  our  Saratoga  meeting  last  fall  was  productive  of  some  good. 

Extract  from  Report  of  Executive  Committee  to  Board  of  Regents, 
University  of  Wisconsin,  June  i6,  1891. 

EDUCATION  of  BUSINESS  MEN. 

The  phenomenal  progress  we  have  obtained  during  the  past  five  years  lies  in  the 
well  deserved  interest  the  public  at  large  has  taken  in  our  college.  Year  after  year 
the  increased  ranks  of  alumni  serve  to  increase  this  public  interest,  and  evidently  it  is 
for  the  good  of  the  University  that  we  take  every  proper  method  to  foster  and  promote 
this  interest,  thereby  holding  public  attention  to  the  immense  advantages  here  offered 
to  the  youth  of  the  Northwest.  It  should  be  our  aim  in  this  connection  to  study  the 
wants  of  the  public  at  large  respecting  education,  and  we  should  recognize  the  fact 
that  the  majority  of  the  alumni  seek  business  channels  for  their  life  work  immediately 
after  graduating.  Is  it  not  then  apparent  that  we  should  increase  our  facilities  for  the 
higher  education  of  our  business  classes }  That  we  should  introduce  commercial 
science  into  our  curriculum  .'*  Instruct  young  men  in  the  philosophy  of  successful 
management  of  private  estates  and  public  trusts  } 

There  is  a  wide  distinction  between  instruction  offered  by  our  so-called  business 
colleges  and  the  commercial  science  advocated  by  your  committee :  the  one  teaches 
young  men  clerical  duties  and  how  to  perform  them,  the  other  the  correct  philosophy 
of  business  management ;  the  one  is  duty  clerical,  the  other  is  duty  official. 

This  subject  is  earnestly  advocated  by  the  American  Bankers'  Association,  which, 
after  full  inquiry  and  consideration,  contemplates  taking  steps  to  the  establishment  of 
a  "great  educational  institution  for  the  training  of  youth  into  business  men." 

Professor  Edmund  J.  James,  Ph.D.,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  delivered  an 
address  before  the  American  Bankers'  Association,  September  3,  1890,  entitled  "The 
Higher  Education  of  the  Future  Business  Man." 

This  address  was  instructive  and  convincing  to  the  last  degree  in  advocacy  of  this 
branch  of  instruction,  and  was  ordered  printed  in  separate  pamphlet  form  for  distri- 
bution. 

To  Mr.  Joseph  Wharton,  of  Philadelphia,  is  due  the  credit  of  originating  and 
endowing  the  chair  called  the  "  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy,"  connected 
with  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  now  in  successful  operation  in  that  college. 

Your  committee  believe  the  establishment  of  a  similar  chair  in  our  University  will 
attract  favorable  comment  and  attention  from  thinking  business  men  of  our  State, 
resulting  in  an  increase  of  the  number  of  students  and  further  liberality  at  the  hands 
of  the  State. 

Your  committee  therefore  recommend  creating  the  chair  of  Commercial  Science, 
or  such  other  appropriate  designation  as  the  wisdom  of  the  Board  may  determine,  and 
that  the  President  of  the  University  be  requested  to  nominate  at  this  meeting,  if 
possible,  a  suitable  person  to  hold  that  position. 

The  action  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  is  shown  by  the  following  letter  from 
President  Chamberlin: 

T.  C.  CHAMBERLIN,  A.M.,  PH.D.,  PRESIDENT  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN,  MADISON. 
I  am  in  the  receipt  of  your  circular-letter  of  October  the  8th,  and  have  the  pleasure 
of  replying  that  we  have  expressed  our  opinion  of  the  value  of  the  movement  you 
urge,  by  action.  At  the  June  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  the  Chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  Mr.  L.  S.  Hanks,  doubtless  known  to  you  as  one  of  the  prominent 
bankers  of  our  State,  urged  that  provision  be  made  for  the  establishment  of  an  addi- 
tional chair  in  our  department  of  civics,  which  should  cover  precisely  the  grounds  you 
urge,  and  in  presenting  the  subject  he  referred  specifically  to  your  pamphlet  and  quoted 
from  it.  The  recommendation  was  adopted  and  effort  was  made  to  lill  the  chair,  but 
not  being  able  to  command  at  present  the  services  of  a  specialist  of  demonstrated 
ability,  the  appointment  has  been  deferred.  I  am  entirely  in  sympathy  with  you  in  your 
endeavors,  and  believe  that  tiie  establishment  of  chairs  or  schools  devoted  to  the 
promotion  of  more  thorough  and  sound  education  in  finance  and  economy  will  be  of 
incalculable  service  both  to  the  institutions  and  to  the  countiy. 


WILLIAM  PRESTON  JOHNSON,  LL.D.,  PRESIDENT  TULANE   UNIVERSITY  OF 
LOUISIANA,  NEW  ORLEANS. 

I  regard  the  movement  for  the  establishment  of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy 
as  a  very  important  one.  The  attention  of  thoughtful  men  has  been  turned  in  recent 
years,  with  an  unprecedented  interest,  to  the  stud^  of  social  and  economic  questions, 
and  to  the  discovery  and  fonnuiation  of  tlie  laws  that  underlie  them,  in  both  their 
scientific  and  practical  aspects. 

REV.  W.  A.  CANDLER,  D.D.,  PRESIDENT  EMORY  COLLEGE,  OXFORD,  GA. 

The  establishment  of  a  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  in  connection  with  each  of 
the  leading  colleges  of  the  country  is  entirely  feasible  and  would  save  more  to  the 
country  than  the  cost. 

Ignorance  of  economic  laws  and  the  principles  of  sound  finance  is  at  this  time 
imperiling  our  currency  and  our  commerce.  Our  people  need  leaders  to  guide  them 
in  the  solution  of  these  great  problems,  and  such  schools  would  supply  them. 

REV,  J.  W.   BISSELL,  A,M„  D.D.,  PRESIDENT    UPPER    IOWA    UNIVERSITY, 
FAYETTE,   IOWA. 

While  it  is  impracticable  for  us  at  present,  we  think  very  favorably  of  the  plan  and 
believe  steps  should  be  taken  to  organize  such  a  department  in  all  our  higher  schools, 

REV.  WILLIAM    T.  STOTT,  D.D.,  PRESIDENT    FRANKLIN    COLLEGE,   FRANKLIN,    IND. 

There  is  as  much  reason  for  a  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  as  of  law  or  medi- 
cine or  music  or  journalism. 

Let  these  schools,  or  this  school,  be  on  a  par  with  the  professional  schools.  Let 
the  main  provision  be  for  college  graduates,  but  also  let  there  be  lighter  courses  for 
those  not  able  to  finish  a  college  course. 

I  should  rejoice  to  see  such  a  school  established  in  the  West. 

JOHN   F.   CROWELL,   A.B.,   DR.   LITT.,   PRESIDENT  TRINITY   COLLEGE, 
TRINITY,  N,  C, 

We  are  now  projecting  an  arrangement  by  which  in  1892-93  we  shall  have  a  course 
of  instruction  offered  like  that  carried  out  in  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and 
Economy  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 

Our  plan  is  to  give  a  practical  and  technical  course  of  two  years  each.  The 
practical  course  to  include  the  theory  and  practice  of  accounts,  banking,  commercial 
law,  the  transportation  system  of  the  United  States,  commercial  statistics,  political 
economy,  commercial  geography,  the  resources  of  the  United  States,  and  the  methods 
and  morals  of  business — two  years. 

The  technical  course  to  be  a  more  exhaustive  treatment  of  the  subjects  of  Finance 
(banking,  taxation)  and  Economics,  with  historical,  administrative  and  industrial 
studies.  Civics  and  constitutional  history  and  law  should  be  conspicuous  in  such  a  plan 
of  subjects, 

JAMES   E,   RHOADS,   LL,D.,   PRESIDENT    BRYN    MAWR    COLLEGE,   BRYN    MAWR,   PA. 

As  to  the  main  question  whether  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  should  be 
established  in  connection  with  colleges  and  universities,  1  conceive  that  universities, 
which  are  necessarily  supposed  to  have  large  financial  resources,  do  well  to  establish 
some  technical  schools,  by  the  side  of  departments  devoted  to  subjects  usually 
regarded  as  properly  belonging  to  a  university.  When  about  to  establish  such  schools 
the  university  must  choose  from  a  large  number  of  claimants  the  occupations  for  which 
it  will  prepare  students.  The  decision  may  properly  be  guided  by  the  industries  car- 
ried on  in  the  region  where  the  university  is  placed.  Agriculture,  mining  engineering, 
civil  engineering,  the  business  of  the  banker,  the  merchant,  the  railroad  manager,  or 
the  journalist  may  seem  to  have  precedence. 

In  short,  after  leaving  instruction  in  those  subjects,  languages  and  literature,  mathe- 
matics, science,  history  with  political  economy,  philosophy,  law,  theolog}-and  medicine, 
usually  ranked  as  university  studies,  the  selection  of  others  must  be  decided  by  purely 
economic  considerations.  To  this  there  is,  perhaps,  one  exception.  In  our  countn,- 
strictly  political  questions,  those  affecting  liberty  and  rights,  have  generally  been  solved, 
and  the  duties  of  our  government  are  chiefly  administrative.  Hence  our  National,  Slate 
and  Municipal  governments  need  the  seivice  of  men  who  have  had  the  education 


given  by  such  a  school  as  that  of  Finance  and  Economy  in  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

It  is  hoped  that  our  ci\al  service  will  be  so  modified  as  to  call  into  office  experts, 
who  may  make  a  life  career  of  their  official  duties.  In  this  way  only  can  we  hope  to 
approach  the  excellent  administration  of  the  best  European  governments. 

EDWARD    M.  GALLAUDET,    PH.D.,    LL.D..    PRESIDENT    NATIONAL    DEAF-MUTE 
COLLEGE,  KENDALL  GREEN,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

My  opinion  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  affording  instruction  to  youth  in  finance  and 
economy.     An  elective  course  in  the  college  curriculum  might  accomplish  this. 

It  may  interest  you  to  know  that  several  of  our  students  have  gone  into  the  busi- 
ness of  banking,  one  having  become  a  successful  cashier.  The  deafness  of  our  young 
men  did  not  prove  a  serious  obstacle  to  success. 

GEORGE    T.    CARPENTER,    A.M.,     LL.D..    CHANCELLOR  DRAKE    UNIVERSITY, 

DES    MOINES,   IOWA 

I  have  read  Professor  James'  address  on  "  Education  of  Business  Men  "  with  great 
interest  and  profit.  In  my  mind  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  would  be  a  most  excellent 
thing  if  a  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  could  be  established  in  connection  with 
each  of  our  colleges  and  universities. 

REV.  E.  BENJAMIN  ANDREWS,    D.D.,  LL.D.,   PRESIDENT   BROWN   UNIVERSITY, 

PROVIDENCE,  R.  I, 

I  favor  very  decidedly  the  suggestion  of  multiplying  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy 
among  our  institutions  of  learning.  Anything  that  can  be  done  to  this  end  by  the 
Bankers'  Association  will  be  of  great  benefit. 

THOMAS   F,  GAILOR,  S.T.B.,  S.T.D.,  VICE-CHANCELLOR  UNIVERSITY  OF  THE   SOUTH, 

SEWANEE,   TENN. 

I  beg  to  acknowledge  with  many  thanks  the  receipt  of  Professor  James'  address  on 
the  "Education  of  Business  Men,"  and  to  say  that  it  is  a  clear  and  reasonable  pre- 
sentation of  the  case.  We  have  a  committee  of  our  Board  of  Trustees  now  at  work 
on  a  similar  scheme  for  this  university.  At  present  the  School  of  Commerce  and 
Trade  affords  three  terms'  work  in  book-keeping  and  commercial  arithmetic  and  com- 
mercial law.  The  School  of  Political  Science  and  History  offers  a  course  of  three  years' 
study  of  the  history  and  theory  of  economics.  Students  have  also  an  opportunity  to 
learn  type-writing,  etc.,  from  tutors.  We  hope  to  establish  a  law  school  and  to  sup- 
plement the  present  "  business  instruction  "  with  higher  work  in  that  department.  As 
a  literary  institution  where  the  courses  of  study  are  entirely  elective  the  University 
deeply  appreciates  the  breadth  of  scholarship  of  Professor  James'  address,  and  we  wish 
the  movement  great  success. 

A.  E.  TURNER,  A.M.,  PRESIDENT   LINCOLN   UNIVERSITY,  LINCOLN,   ILL. 

As  to  the  value  of  such  schools  as  it  is  proposed  to  establish,  I  see  no  good  reason 
why  they  should  not  occupy  a  very  important  place  in  our  educational  system.  I 
should  be  glad  to  see  Schools  of  Finance  rank  in  importance  with  the  various  profes- 
sional schools,  and  I  believe  that  when  they  do,  a  much  larger  number  of  our  young 
men  will  be  found  moving  in  that  direction. 

As  to  the  feasibility  of  the  scheme,  such  efforts  as  your  organization  is  now  making 
seems  to  me  essential  to  the  development  of  a  sentiment  friendly  to  it.  Then  we  may 
hope  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  Boards  of  Control  and  the  favorable  consideration 
of  such  men  of  means  as  Joseph  Wharton. 

REV.  RICHARD  M'ILWAINE,  D.D.,  PRESIDENT   HAMPDEN-SIDNEY   COLLEGE, 
HAMPDEN-SIDNEY,  VA. 

I  have  carefully  read  the  pamphlet  on  "  Education  of  Business  Men,"  and  concur 
in  much  contained  in  it.  I  am  also  glad  to  inform  you  that  the  object  before  your 
Association  is  of  great  interest  to  the  Faculty  and  Board  of  Trustees  of  Hampden- 
Sidney  College,  and  that  much  described  in  the  address  of  I'rofessor  James  before 
"  The  American  Bankers'  Association  "  has  already  been  undertaken  here,  though  not 
so  thoroughly  and  extensively  as  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.     From  time  im- 


9 

memorial,  political  economy  has  been  a  part  of  the  cuniculum  of  all  ^oocl  colleges.  For 
some  eijijht  or  ten  years  the  Political  History  of  England  and  the  United  States  has 
been  included  in  our  course  of  instruction.  For  seven  years  a  class  in  commercial 
arithmetic  and  book-keeping  has  been  regularly  taught,  and  this  session,  for  the  first 
time,  civics  has  been  introduced  as  a  constituent  part  of  the  course  for  graduation. 
The  only  one  of  these  subjects  that  does  not  count  for  the  degree  is  commercial 
arithmetic  and  book-keeping,  and  the  time  has  perhaps  come  when  it  may  be  put  on  a 
footing  with  other  studies.  I  think,  commercial  law  excepted,  our  course  nearly 
covers  the  ground  of  "  The  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy,"  but  not  so 
minutely  or  extensively.  As  our  endowment  increases,  these  departments  will  be 
developed  along  with  others. 

Permit  me  to  suggest  further  that  the  primary  object  in  the  education  of  business 
men  ought  to  De  the  same  as  for  other  professions,  viz.,  to  make  them  self-respecting, 
thoughtful,  good  men ;  to  give  them  knowledge  of  and  confidence  in  their  own  powers 
and  so  to  discipline  those  powers  that  they  may  be  used  to  the  best  advantage.  It 
would,  therefore,  be  a  fatal  mistake  to  substitute  mere  technical  training  for  those  studies 
which  experience  has  shown  to  be  best  adapted  to  secure  these  ends.  The  mathe- 
matics, the  languages,  the  physical  and  psychical  sciences  cannot  be  dispensed  with  in 
any  system  of  liberal  education  worthy  of  the  name.  Much,  then,  already  found  in  our 
colleges  must  be  taken  by  all  who  would  obtain  the  refinement  and  culture  that  shall 
fit  them  to  fill  comfortably  the  highest  positions  in  society,  whether  in  business  or  pro- 
fessional life,  and  it  only  remains  for  men  of  wealth  and  liberal  views  to  endow  special 
chairs  or  departments  that  these  institutions  may  be  well  ecjuijiped  to  meet  the  wants 
of  all  who  resort  to  them.  It  is  very  certain  that  their  guardians  will  be  glad  to  adjust 
them  to  the  demands  of  the  age,  so  far  as  the  means  are  placed  at  their  disposal. 

C.  E.  WILBUR,    PROFESSOR   OF   POLITICAL   ECONOMY,   ADRIAN   COLLEGE, 

ADRIAN,    MICH. 

Yours  concerning  "  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy "  was  received  by  Dr. 
McElroy  and  handed  to  me  for  answer,  as  the  matter  pertains  more  directly  to  my 
department. 

An  experience  of  twenty  years  in  connection  with  such  work,  as  both  student  and 
teacher,  convinces  me  that  the  private  and  public  interests  of  the  countiy  need  the 
establishment  of  such  schools.  The  woeful  ignorance  of  financial  matters  shown  bv 
our  otherwise  great  public  men,  in  the  outset  of  the  Civil  War,  the  results  of  which  fol- 
low us  still,  shows  the  need  of  them  for  public  men,  and  the  wild  notions  of  the  people 
at  large  about  money  points  out  the  necessity  of  well-informed  leaders  among  them.  I 
hope  something  more  will  be  done  in  this  line. 

B.  D.  COCKRILL,  PRESIDENT  TRINITY  COLLEGE,  TEHUACANA,  TEXAS. 

Your  circular-letter  together  with  the  address  of  Prof.  James  received,  and  carefully 
read  and  considered.  Conceding  even  half  the  statements  made  by  Mr.  Wharton  and 
Dr.  James  respecting  the  "  business  class  "  in  relation  to  present  college  and  university 
curricula  to  be  true,  the  movement  looking  to  the  establishment  of  Schools  of 
"  Finance  and  Economy  "  is  timely  and  very  important.  While  I  would  not  countenance 
for  a  moment  any  movement  which  discourages  or  discounts  wisely  arranged  literary 
courses,  such  as  are  adopted  in  our  best  colleges  and  universities  leading  to  the  A.  15., 
B.  S.,  etc.,  degrees,  yet  that  there  should  be  departments  in  our  universities  and  col- 
leges ready  to  receive  our  college  students  after  their  third  academic  year  who  look  to 
a  business  life,  I  verily  believe,  and  for  such  I  have  longed.  If  we  had  such  a  special 
school  in  all  our  higher  institutions,  we  could  then  send  forth  business  tncn  thoroughly 
furnished.  We  could  then  graduate  men  for  a  business  career  who  would  go  forth  to 
their  life  work  with  as  high  a  sense  of  its  importance  and  dignity  as  professional  men 
go  forth  to  their  life  work. 

Your  Association  is  on  the  right  track.  If  this  mere  indorsement  of  your  efforts  in 
this  new  education  departure  could  be  so  expanded  as  to  allow  it,  I  would  like  to  say 
much  on  the  subject,  for  I  have  long  been  conscious  of  the  need  of  such  schools.  Our 
present  commercial  departments  and  classes  in  political  and  civil  sciences  do  not  begin 
to  meet  the  case.     Nothing  short  of  such  as  the  Wharton  School  will  answer. 

But  I  desist,  assuring  you  of  my  heartiest  indorsement  and  sympathy. 


10 

C.  H.  COOPER,  CARLETON  COLLEGE,  NORTHFIELD,  MINN. 

The  President  has  handed  me  your  circular  with  "  Education  of  Business  Men," 
and  has  requested  me  to  answer. 

I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  such  schools  are  greatly  to  be  desired,  and  can 
be  best  developed  and  made  most  useful  in  connection  with  the  leading  universities, 
where  there  are  already  many  students,  books  and  organizations  on  which  to  ingraft  them. 

I  have  no  wisdom  as  to  methods  of  organization.  I  suppose  that  any  institution 
would  be  glad  to  organize  a  school  if  the  money  were  forthcoming  to  support  it. 

REV.   CHARLES  W.  GALLAGHER,   D.D.,   PRESIDENT   LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY, 

APPLETON,   WIS. 

In  answer  to  your  circular  letter  to  the  different  colleges  regarding  "  the  value  and 
feasibility  of  establishing  a  school  or  schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  among  our  insti- 
tutions of  learning,"  I  would  say : 

The  importance  of  establishing  such  a  school  seems  to  me  to  be  very  great,  and  to 
be  indicated  by  the  general  trend  of  educational  needs  and  work  at  the  present  time. 
If  it  is  not  provided  for  by  the  elective  system,  as  it  is  in  many  of  the  larger  institutions, 
it  certainly  ought  to  receive  special  consideration. 

REV.  J.  A.  THOiMPSON,  A.M.,  PRESIDENT  TARKIO  COLLEGE,  TARKIO,  MO. 
Replying  to  your  circular  inquiring  into  the  feasibility  and  value  of  establishing 
Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  similar  to  the  Wharton  School  in  connection  with  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  I  wish  to  express  my  hearty  approval  of  the  idea.  The 
plan  is  admirable,  its  execution  will  satisfy  a  demand  which  our  institutions  have  not 
been  satisfying.  A  suggestion  made  directly  to  leading  institutions  in  each  section 
ought  eventually  to  result  in  an  effort  to  establish  such  a  school. 

WILLIAM  A.  OBENCHAIN,  A.M.,  PRESIDENT   OGDEN   COLLEGE,  BOWLING    GREEN,  KY. 

I  take  pleasure  in  saying  that  I  have  read  with  great  interest  Professor  James' 
address  before  the  American  Bankers'  Association,  at  Saratoga,  September  3,  1890, 
and  that  I  cordially  approve  of  the  aims  and  method  so  ably  set  forth  therein. 

In  this  age  of  wonderful  material  development,  gigantic  business  operations  and 
close  competition,  only  those  eminently  fitted  by  nature  and  training  for  such  opera- 
tions can  iiope  to  succeed  ;  and  failure  nowadays  affects  not  only  individuals,  but  whole 
communities,  and  often  the  people  at  large.  Many  of  our  large  business  operations  are 
now  as  much  professions  as  law  or  medicine,  and  require  as  much  special  training.  It 
is  still  true  that  practice  and  experience  are  indispensable  for  great  skill  and  efficiency. 
but  the  old  system  of  apprenticeship  is  long,  tedious,  and  often  unsatisfactory  in  results, 
and  it  necessarily  involves  much  waste  of  energy  and  time.  These  evils  can  be  reduced 
to  a  minimum,  and  a  higher  order  of  skill  and  efficiency  evolved,  by  a  groundwork  of 
such  special  training  as  that  described  by  Professor  James. 

Aside  from  their  special  uses,  social  and  political  science,  and  finance  and  economy, 
should  to-day  be  considered  a  necessary  part  of  a  liberal  education.  Good  govern- 
ment can  come  only  from  good  citizenship,  and  good  citizensiiip  is  largely  dependent 
on  a  fair  knowledge  of  political  science  in  its  most  comprehensive  sense.  Grave 
political  problems  are  now  staring  us  in  the  face — problems  which  concern  the  welfare 
of  our  pecjple,  if  they  do  not  involve  the  stability  of  our  government.  These  problems 
cannot  be  lightly  brushed  away ;  they  must  be  met  with  intelligence  and  wisdom,  and 
their  right  solution  depends  upon  the  loftiest  statesmanship,  backed  by  the  highest 
intelligence  of  the  people. 

Not  only  shoulfl  these  sciences  be  taught  the  best  possible  in  every  college  and 
university,  but  the  history  of  our  country  and  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  govern- 
ment should  be  instilled  into  every  child  in  the  land  so  that  our  people  may  under- 
stand and  cherish  these  grand  principles,  and  be  able,  not  only  to  preserve  I  lie  noble 
heritage  handed  down  t(j  us  by  our  forefathers,  but  to  i)uil(l  conliinially  on  these  prin- 
ciples and  to  afid  to  this  heritage,  until  the  blessings  of  liberty  shall  How  out  to  every 
land  and  enlighten  the  whole  world. 

I  take  special  interest  in  these  subjects,  and  teach  them  in  our  college  course  ;  but 
I  greatly  regret  that  our  means  are  insufficient  to  make  for  them  such  jjrovision  in 
Ogden  College  as  their  importance  demands, 

1  wish  your  Association  success  in  its  noble  undertaking. 


11 

J.   S.   BROWN,    ACTING   PROFESSOR   OF   POLITICAL   ECONOMY,   DOANE   COLLEGE, 

CRETE,    NE15. 

Your  pamphlet  containing  a  plan  of  the  Wharton  School  of  P'inance  and  Economy, 
top^ether  with  a  circular-letter  askinr^  for  expressions  of  opinion  respectinj^  the  found- 
ing of  schools  for  the  education  of  business  men  or  of  creating  a  department  of  that 
nature  in  the  colleges  and  universities  already  in  existence,  has  just  come  into  my  hands 
and  I  hasten  a  reply. 

I  think  the  need  of  such  an  opportunity  for  the  thorough  education  of  business  men 
is  constantly  becoming  more  pressing. 

1st.  Our  business  interests  are  the  sources  whence  all  lines  of  ordinary  life  and  all 
our  philanthropies  receive  their  support;  to  allow  them  to  be  neglected  is  to  lessen 
progress. 

2d.  Many  of  our  business  interests  are  becoming  so  large  that  men  having  received 
only  the  training  which  our  schools  at  present  afford  are  scarcely  able  to  manage  them. 
As  a  consequence  wealth  is  concentrating  in  the  hands  of  a  fewer  and  fewer  as  the 
years  go  by,  and  our  boasted  equality  is  becoming  less  and  less. 

To  correct  these  tendencies  such  schools  as  you  have  under  consideration  should 
be  formed.  Our  college  has  not  yet  sufficient  endowment  to  increase  its  departments 
as  it  would  like  to  do.  If  the  means  could  be  secured  for  the  establishment  of  such  a 
department  it  would  enter  into  it  with  zeal  and  foster  it  with  care.  Meanwhile  the 
sympathies  of  this  college  and  its  active  co-operation,  so  far  as  possible,  will  be  given 
toward  the  founding  of  these  schools  wherever  possible. 

REV.  W.  L.  C.  HUNNICUTT,   D.D.,  PRESIDENT    CENTENARY  COLLEGE  OF  LOUISIANA, 

JACKSON,    LA. 

I  am  in  receipt  of  the  circular  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association,  also  of  the 
pamphlet  on  the  "  Education  of  Business  Men."  I  am  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the 
objects  of  the  Association.  I  know  of  no  department  wherein  our  educational  schemes 
are  more  defective  than  in  that  which  looks  to  the  personal  management  of  finances. 
Our  people  are  accused  (perhaps  truly)  of  loving  money ;  yet  the  average  youth  knows 
neither  how  to  make,  save  nor  invest  a  dollar.  He  usually  deems  himself  and  is 
deemed  happy  if  he  has  had  a  father  to  do  these  things  for  him.  We  teach  political  econ- 
omy, but  not  personal  economy.  I  can  scarcely  think  of  a  more  needed  improvement 
than  the  organizing  of  "  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  "  in  connection  with  all  our 
institutions  of  learning. 

REV.  W.  A.  CANDLER.  D.D.,  PRESIDENT   EMORY  COLLEGE,  OXFORD,  GA. 
It  is  impossible  to  elaborate  within  the  limits  of  a  letter  all  the  propositions  which 
follow  below  concerning  Schools  of  Economy  and  Finance.     I  only  set  down  the  bare 
statements  without  argument  to  enforce  them,  except  of  the  briefest  sort. 

1.  In  a  republic,  where  the  people  make  the  government,  it  is  of  the  last  importance 
that  a  clear  knowledge  of  finance  and  political  economy  should  be  generally  prevalent. 
Otherwise  the  people  will  be  misled  by  foolish  or  bad  men  to  adopt  disastrous  policies, 
and  when  they  begin  to  reap  the  fruit  of  their  doing  will  make  revolution,  for  at  bottom 
every  revolution  is  a  bread  riot. 

2.  This  consideration  is  of  especial  importance  to  a  country  like  ours,  the  future  of 
which  clearly  foreshadows  not  military  or  artistic  greatness,  but  industrial  greatness. 

3.  Schools  of  finance  were  never  so  feasible  as  now.  There  is  widespread  interest 
in  the  subjects  about  which  they  would  impart  instruction,  and  the  statistical  facts 
upon  which  any  sound  philoso[)hy  of  finance  and  political  economy  must  rest  were 
never  so  accessible  to  teachers  and  pupils.  When  Adam  Smith  wrote  the  "  Wealth  of 
Nations,"  he  was  forced  to  adopt  many  a  /rw-/ conclusions  and  he  was  without  data 
to  verify  many  of  them.  The  abundance  and  exactness  of  such  data  in  our  time 
make  it  possible  to  reduce  economics  almost  to  an  exact  science. 

4.  It  is  better  to  have  such  schools  as  integral  parts  of  long  established  and  popular 
institutions  than  to  set  them  off  to  themselves.  In  this  way  they  can  reach  a  /ar<^e 
number  oi  prepared  ?im\  influoitial  students  sooner  than  in  any  other.  In  this  way 
every  leading  college  of  the  country  could  be  induced  to  make  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  economics  a  requisite  to  obtaining  any  academic  degree  and  thus  carry  the  subject 
into  all  ranks  and  classes  of  students. 


12 

5.  The  study  of  finance  and  economy  impinges  on  the  question  of  human  rights. 
A  knowledge  of  these  subjects,  unaccompanied  by  right  motives,  would  not  accomplish 
the  good  desired.  Economic  instruction  should  always  be  given,  therefore,  in  connec- 
tion with  ethical  teaching  in  order  that  men  may  not  only  know  the  cotiseqitcnccs  of  a 
l)o!icy,  but  that  they  may  also  care  for  the  rights  involved  in  such  consequences.  And 
as  moral  principles  depend,  for  their  power  to  make  vivid  and  lasting  impressions,  on 
religious  sanction,  it  must  follow  that  those  schools  in  which  the  ethics  of  Christianity 
find  a  place  are  best  suited  to  teach  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  financial  policies  and 
economic  systems. 

These  are  some  of  my  views  in  outline.  If  any  part  of  what  I  have  written  seems 
obscure,  or  if  there  are  other  points  not  mentioned  herein,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  answer 
any  further  inquiries  which  you  may  make. 

JAMES  H.  CANFIELD,  CHANCELLOR  UNIVERSITY  OF   NEBRASKA,  LINCOLN. 

I  beg  leave  to  add  to  the  note  which  I  inclose  from  the  instructors  in  this  institu- 
tion, my  most  hearty  commendation  of  the  efforts  now  being  put  forth  by  the  Bankers' 
Association  in  connection  with  founding  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy. 

I  shall  be  glad  to  know  at  some  future  time,  and  I  hope  in  the  near  future,  exactly 
what  the  Bankers'  Association  proposes  to  do  in  this  line,  if  anything,  in  the  way  of 
offering  practical  assistance  to  institutions  which  otherwise  must  carry  the  work  under 
severe  limitations. 

H.    W.    CALDWELL,    FRED.    MORROW    FLING,    AND   MARY   TREMAIN,    INSTRUCTORS, 
UNIVERSITY  OF  NEBRASKA,  LINCOLN. 

Your  circular-letter  and  the  address  of  Professor  E.  J.  James  has  been  received  and 
contents  noted.  We  are  heartily  in  sympathy  with  the  project  of  founding  Schools  of 
Finance  and  Economy.  Already  some  steps  in  that  direction  have  been  taken.  We  are 
now  offering  preliminar}-  courses  in  political  economy,  finance  and  American  Con- 
stitution history.  One  year's  time  for  three  hours  per  week  is  given  to  the  study  of 
political  economy,  with  special  investigations  by  the  students  in  economic  subjects, 
together  with  the  history  of  the  science.  Finance,  including  taxation,  banking,  public 
debts,  money  and  the  tariff,  is  studied  for  two  hours  per  week  for  one  year.  To 
American  Constitution  history  and  law,  one  year  for  three  hours  j)er  week  is  given. 

There  are  three  instructors  in  the  Department  of  History  and  Political  Economy, 
and  the  work  in  the  above  subjects  is  distributed  among  them.  As  fast  as  the  teaching 
force  will  permit,  development  along  the  lines  suggested  in  your  circular  will  be  made 
with  the  ultimate  object  of  establishing  a  School  of  Political  Science  and  Finance. 

We  shall  be  glad  to  co-operate  with  you  in  any  plans  that  will  further  the  common 
end  in  view. 

CHARLES   LEE   SMITH,    PH.D.,   PROFESSOR  OF   HISTORY   AND   POLITICS, 
WILLIAM   JEWELL   COLLEGE,    LIBERTY,    MO. 

Your  circular-letter  and  the  accompanying  pamphlet  on  the  "  Education  of  r>usi- 
ness  Men,"  addressed  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Faculty,  have  been  handed  me  for  a 
reply.  1  have  read  with  great  interest  Professor  James'  able  address.  In  asserting 
that  existing  facilities  for  the  higher  education  of  business  are  inadequate,  he  states 
a  truth  patent  to  every  one  who  has  examined  the  curricula  of  our  colleges  and  business 
schools.  The  Wharton  School  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  is  doing  excellent 
work,  but  no  one  institution,  however  well  endowed,  can  meet  the  need  for  the  special 
training  of  business  men.  Every  college  in  this  country  should  have  an  endowed 
School  of  Finance  and  Economy,  ami  it  is  encouraging  to  know  that  the  American 
Bankers'  Association  is  considering  plans  for  organizing  and  promoting  such  schools. 

Many  of  our  colleges  recognize  the  demand  for  the  higher  instiiiction  of  business 
men,  and,  in  so  far  as  their  limited  endowments  permit,  they  are  endeavoring  to  meet 
it.  At  William  Jewell  College  we  have  a  two  years'  course  in  political  economy,  a 
year's  course  in  American  political  and  constitutional  history,  and  a  year's  course  in 
business  law  and  practice.  P.ut  when  I  add  that  all  the  work  of  instruction  in  his- 
tory and  politics  is  done  by  two  men  you  will  see  that  our  facilities  for  the  special 
training  iA  bu.siness  men,  tliough  superior  to  many  colleges,  are  necessarily  restricted. 

Wealth  could  not,  be  better  cnipluycd  than  in  the  cnduwmeiU  of  Schools  of  Finance 


13 

and  Economy,  and  I  trust  that  our  American  bankers  may  see  their  way  clear  to  aid 
in  this  much  needed  work. 

MRS.    ELIZABETH    STORKS    MEAD,    MOUNT    HOLYOKE    SEMINARY    AND    COLLEGE, 

SOUTH  HADLEY,  MASS. 
In  response  to  your  circular  of  inquiry,  it  seems  to  me  that  Schools  of  Finance  and 
Economy  might  prove  most  valuable.  I  consider  it  very  desirable  indeed  to  have 
some  business  training  secured  to  the  young  women  in  our  colleges  by  special  attention 
to  finance  and  economy,  and  students  who  are  intending  to  enter  a  business  would 
certainly  find  great  advantage  in  a  School  of  Finance. 

REV.  L.  J.  ALDRICH,  A.M.,  D.D.,  PRESIDENT  UNION  CHRISTIAN  COLLEGE,  MEROM,  IND. 
In  response  to  your  request  I  would  state  that  from  such  thought  as  I  have  been 
able  to  give  to  the  subject  1  would  heartily  recommend  the  founding  of  a  school  or 
schools  of  Finance  ancl  Economy.  The  question  is  just  now  of  paramount  interest  and 
surely  the  time  is  ripe  to  act  in  the  line  proposed. 

CHARLES  W.  SUPER,  A.M.,  PH.D.,  PRESIDENT  OHIO  UNIVERSITY,  ATHENS,  OHIO. 
I  do  not  believe  that  any  one  can  be  more  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  importance 
and  necessity  of  a  better  education  for  our  business  men  than  I  am.  I  have  urged  it 
upon  our  young  men  at  ever)'  suitable  opportunity.  In  the  first  place,  no  matter  what 
occupation  a  man  follows  he  is  a  citizen,  and  he  cannot  intelligently  discharge  his 
duties  as  such  without  knowing  a  good  deal  of  the  history  of  our  country,  in  a  large 
way,  and  of  the  most  important  countries  of  Europe.  Then  there  is  a  large  numijer  of 
questions  coming  under  the  general  head  of  Economics  with  wliich  he  ouglit  to  be 
familiar,  and,  in  fact,  of  which  no  person  of  mature  age,  whether  male  or  female,  ought 
to  be  ignorant.  P'urther,  the  history  of  financial  legislation  is  supremely  important. 
It  seems  to  me  the  most  effective  antidote  against  the  heresies  on  currency  questions 
that  appear  from  to  time  and  find  a  large  number  of  adherents  is  a  knowledge  of  the 
history  of  currency  for  the  last  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  If  I  have  read  the  history 
of  modern  times  to  any  purf>ose,  it  teaches  me  that  every  attempt  to  make  money 
j)lenty  by  legislative  enactments  that  has  been  made  in  my  time,  is  simply  a  recurrence 
to  methods  that  have  been  repeatedly  tried,  only  to  result  m  failure.  It  is  in  this  direc- 
tion that  the  lessons  of  experience  are  particularly  valuable.  Any  sort  of  an  education 
is  better  than  ignorance.  There  is,  however,  a  good  deal  of  which  no  citizen  can 
afford  to  be  ignorant.  But  above  all  things  it  seems  to  me  the  business  man  ought  to 
be  familiar  with  modern  history  in  a  general  way ;  with  the  fundamental  principles  of 
economics  and  the  laws  of  trade;  with  the  history  of  coinage,  currency  and  banking; 
and  with  two  or  three  modern  languages.  There  are,  of  course,  a  number  of  matters 
relating  to  each  particular  business  that  have  to  be  learned  largely  by  experience,  but 
1  have  briefly  indicated  above  the  subjects  upon  which  all  business  men  ought  to  be 
informed.  The  more  our  schools  can  do  in  this  direction  the  better  for  the  schools  and 
the  country. 

REV.  JAMF'.S  W.  BASHFORD,   PH.D.,   D.D.,   PRESIDENT  OHIO  WESLEYAN    UNIVERSITY, 

DELAWARE,   OHIO. 

I  have  just  read  carefully  the  pamphlet  you  have  sent  in  regard  to  a  School  of  Finances 
in  connection  with  colleges.  Ex-President  Hayes,  one  of  the  Trustees  of  this  Uni- 
versity, advocates  a  plan  varying  somewhat  from  yours,  and  yet  similar  in  its  aim  and 
covering  similar  ground.  I  believe  that  the  scheme  is  practical,  and  that  it  would 
help  to  attract  many  students  to  our  colleges  and  universities  who  contemplate  busi- 
ness careers.  We  shall  establish  such  a  school  at  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  as  soon 
as  we  secure  the  funds. 

HENRY  B.  ADAMS,  PROFESSOR  OF  POLITICAL  ECONOMY  AND  FINANCE, 
UNIVERSITY  OF  MICHIGAN,  ANN  ARBOR. 

Your  circular-letter,  which  was  sent  to  Dr.  James  B.  Angell,  President  of  the 
yniversity  of  Michigan,  has  been  referred  to  me  for  reply. 

Personally,  1  am  veiy  much  interested  in  devfloi)inga  practical  scheme  of  "  Educa- 
tion for  Business  Men."  I  liave  taken  great  pleasure  in  reading  the  address  of  Dr. 
James  before  the  Bankers'  Association,    The  feature  of  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance 


14 

and  Economy  which  appenls  to  me  especially,  is  that  it  provides  for  instruction  in 
accounts.  I  have  had  something  to  do  in  a  practical  way,  as  Statistician  to  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission,  with  railway  accounts,  and  am  confident  that  any  step 
which  could  bring  about  greater  uniformity,  not  only  in  methods  of  keeping  railway 
accounts,  but  in  the  accounts  of  all  corporations,  whether  private  or  quasi-public,  would 
be  of  great  advantage  not  only  to  the  businesses  themselves,  but  to  the  public  as  well. 
In  the  University  of  Michigan,  the  instruction  given  in  political  economy  and  finance  is 
adjusted,  so  far  as  possible,  to  the  ideas  presented  in  your  circular,  and  I  should  take 
great  pleasure  in  receiving  from  you  such  further  publications  or  suggestions  as  the 
Bankers'  Association  may  make  looking  toward  a  more  perfect  realization  of  practical 
education  for  business  men. 

H.  W.  MILLIGAN,  PROFESSOR  OF   POLITICAL   ECONOMY,    ILLINOIS   COLLEGE, 

JACKSONVILLE,  ILL. 

Your  communication,  addressed  to  the  President  of  Illinois  College,  was  delayed 
until  too  late  for  reply  before  the  meeting  of  your  Association  on  the  nth  and  I2th. 
The  importance  of  sound  knowledge  of  finance  and  economy  among  our  young  men  is 
so  great,  and  the  grip  which  financial  fallacies  have  on  their  minds  is  so  strong,  that  I 
venture,  although  your  Convention  is  now  in  session,  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  your 
idea.  Permit  nie,  first  of  all,  to  congratulate  the  cause  which  has  the  Bankers'  Asso- 
ciation for  its  god-father.  The  economic  department  of  Illinois  College  will  most 
heartily  join  in  any  plan  for  advancing  financial  knowledge.  It  is  the  diffusion  of 
knovv^ledge  among  the  people  which  is  the  great  necessity,  is  it  not  ?  The  Wharton 
School  is  the  place  for  making  teachers  in  finance.  Its  influence  does  not  sufficiently 
reach  the  people. 

REV.  SYLVESTER  F.  SCOVEL,  PRESIDENT  UNIVERSITY  OF  WOOSTER,  WOOSTER,  OHIO. 

I  could  not  give  the  pamphlet  the  consideration  it  merited,  until  after  the  time  of 
the  Convention.  Since  then  I  have  found  it  of  extreme  interest,  and  would  be  glad  to 
be  known  as  in  fullest  sj'mpathv  with  the  effort  to  establish  such  schools  as  the 
Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  tconomy  wherever  feasible.  It  is  the  need  of  our 
time,  second  only  to  certain  moral  needs,  and  a.  good  second  in  a  very  significant  sense. 
May  your  laudable  efforts  to  awaken  sustained  attention  and  to  induce  effective  action 
be  largely  successful.  We  promise  to  follow  here  as  fast  and  as  far  as  our  limited 
means  allow. 

THE    EDUCATION     OF   BANKERS. — PROF.    ALBERT     S.    I50LLES,    EDITOR,    IN     THE 
BANKERS'    MAGAZINE,  JANUARY,   1892. 

Elsewhere  in  the  present  number  may  be  found  the  educational  report  of  a  com- 
mittee of  the  American  Bankers'  Association,  made  at  the  last  Convention,  which 
ought  to  awaken  every  banker  to  consider  the  need  of  devoting  more  attention  to  the 
education  of  those  who  intend  to  engage  in  the  business  of  banking. 

The  opinion  has  been  prevalent  among  business  men  that  there  was  not  much 
need  for  careful  training  in  order  to  succeed  in  any  business  pursuit.  Too  often  when 
a  young  man  has  asked  his  superior  for  advice  on  the  suljject  he  has  been  told  :  "  Do 
as  I  have  done  and  you  will  succeed,"  and  yet  this  advice,  if  followed,  in  most  cases 
would  have  brought  forth  very  unsatisfactory  results.  The  difficulty  with  the  adviser 
in  such  cases  is,  he  does  not  comprehend  the  natural  difference  between  himself, 
mentally  and  otherwise,  and  the  person  who  seeks  his  advice.  Metliodical  training  is 
needed,  not  so  much  for  exceptional  characters  as  for  average  ordinary  men,  who  con- 
stitute by  far  the  larger  number  engaged  in  business.  What  shall  be  done  to  equip 
them  m<jre  perfectly  lor  their  intended  pursuit  .i^  Now  the  experience  of  the  most 
successful  men  usually  furnishes  no  correct  groundwork  for  our  reasonings  with  respect 
to  others;  and  the  reasons  why  it  docs  not  may  be  briefly  given. 

Until  the  present  time  the  natural  resources  of  our  country  abounfled  on  every 
side,  aiifi,  therefore,  with  a  little  a|)titude  and  energy  and  stif-denial,  it  has  been  easy 
for  a  large  number  of  ])ersons  to  acfjuire  in  a  short  i)eriod  great  fortunes  ;  i)ut  that  time 
is  passing  away.  Oin^  natural  resources,  while  great,  are  not  so  easily  transmuted 
into  wealth  as  liiey  were  u  lew  years  ago.     Fortunes  can  no  longer  be  made  in  a  day 


16 

in  railroads,  banks,  mines  or  lands.  New  conditions  confront  those  enj^aged  in  busi- 
ness. Competition  is  infinitely  keener  than  at  any  former  time.  The  one  great 
advantage,  perhaps,  which  men  of  the  present  day  possess  is  the  greater  abundance  of 
capital  whicn  is  always  ready  for  investment  in  every  enterprise  that  promises  a  fair 
return.  Except  this  condition,  all  the  others  are  less  favorable  for  the  acquisition  of 
large  wealth,  and,  therefore,  to  succeed,  a  higher  degree  of  ability,  better  training  and 
more  self-denial  are  needed  than  the  successful  merchants,  bankers  and  other  business 
men  formerly  practiced. 

If  this  be  true,  surely  the  need  of  a  more  systematic  education  in  every  kind  of 
business  is  imperative,  and  bankers  have  not  opened  their  eyes  too  soon  to  the  need  of 
it  by  those  who  are  following  or  intend  co  follow  the  banking  pursuit.  The  conditions 
of  success  in  the  business  are  far  more  intricate  than  they  ever  were  before,  and  a 
more  careful  study  of  them  is  necessary  in  order  to  insure  a  successful  prosecution  of 
it.  The  untrained  man,  therefore,  is  more  likely  to  fail  than  the  man  who  is  able  to 
study  and  understand  these  things. 

But  there  is  another  phase  to  this  subject  which  ought  not  to  be  omitted.  In  every 
business  there  is  no  little  discontent,  especially  among  subordinate  employees.  Many 
of  them  bemoan  their  fate,  and  regard  themselves  as  unwilling  prisoners  who  cannot 
escape.  They  do  their  work  unwilingly ;  watch  the  clock  for  the  hour  when  they  can 
leave  their  bank,  or  other  place  of  business,  and  seem  to  think,  in  short,  that  the  world 
has  dealt  hardly  with  them,  and  that  they  by  no  means  merit  the  treatment  which  has 
fallen  to  their  lot.  They  realize  that  not  all  of  them  can  ever  be  the  heads  of  banks 
and  railroads  and  other  great  enterprises,  earning  large  salaries  (though  perhaps 
unmindful  of  the  responsibilities  and  cares  which  these  places  inevitably  bring),  and  there- 
fore relapse  into  a  more  hopeless  state  than  ever  when  they  recall  tneir  surroundings. 
One  of  the  ends  which  a  better  education  ought  to  accomplish  for  all  such  is  to  make 
them  more  contented  in  performing  their  task  and  enable  them  to  get  greater  pleasure 
from  life  when  the  day  is  over  and  they  are  at  liberty  to  go  outside  of  their  counting- 
room  or  other  place  of  business.  Many,  who  are  thus  employed,  while  bemoaning 
their  fate  within,  know  hardly  what  to  do  with  themselves  when  their  work-day  is 
ended  and  they  are  free  to  go  elsewhere. 

An  education  for  a  man  who  is  intending  to  pursue  the  banking  business  ought  to 
enlarge  his  mind  and  to  correct  his  view  of  life,  so  as  to  make  him  more  contented, 
and  to  make  him  realize  that  great  happiness  may  be  derived  in  doing  his  work  faith- 
fully, whatever  it  may  be  ;  that,  in  truth,  to  most  persons  a  larger  measure  of  happi- 
ness must  and  should  come  to  them  in  this,  than  in  striving  for  a  particular  end  ;  for 
if  experience  teaches  us  anything  it  is  this,  that  all  who  lay  down  their  life-plan  by 
marking  out  the  attainment  of  a  place  in  the  future  as  the  goal  of  happiness  inevitablv 
find,  on  gaining  it,  that  it  rarely  yields  the  haj)])iness  anticipated,  and  for  reasons  which 
go  to  the  very  bottom  of  human  character,  and  are  explained  in  any  work  that  deals 
thoroughly  with  human  nature. 

Prof.  James,  of  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy,  a  department  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  delivered  an  excellent  address  on  this  subject  before 
the  American  Bankers'  Association  last  year,  which  was  reprinted  by  order  of  the 
Association,  and  has  been  largely  circulated,  and  has  been  productive  of  much  good. 
A  somewhat  similar  school  has  been  established  in  the  Northwest,  connected  with  one 
of  the  universities  ;  and  Mr.  Hilliker,  President  of  the  Kansas  Bankers'  Association, 
discussed  the  subject  briefly,  though  with  a  realizing  importance,  in  his  annual 
address  to  that  association,  which  was  delivered  a  few  weeks  since.  In  Great 
Britain  and  on  the  Continent  far  more  attention  has  been  devoted  to  the 
subject  than  has  been  here,  and  for  obvious  reasons.  It  will  not  be  questioned, 
for  a  moment,  that  the  bankers  abroad,  as  a  class,  the  subordinates  as  well 
as  the  chief  officers,  are  better  etlucated  men  than  our  own.  For  this  reason 
especially  the  committee  have  made  an  excellent  recommendation,  that  a  person  should 
be  sent  abroad  to  collect  information  concerning  the  practices  and  methods  of  fitting 
men  more  perfectly  for  the  banking  business  in  other  countries.  In  England  and 
Scotland  institutions  exist  of  this  character ;  courses  of  education  have  been  established, 
examinations  are  held,  and,  in  short,  preparation  is  made  for  the  future  banker  which 
should  be  understood  by  bankers  here,  and,  to  some  extent  at  least,  be  adopted.  On 
the  Continent,  too,  courses  of  study  have  been  established,  and  examinations  are  con- 


16 

ducted,  and  all  this  experience  ought  to  be  gathered,  for  we  are  certain  that  from  this 
information  some  desirable  assistance  can  he  obtained. 

The  success  attending  the  collection  of  this  information  depends,  of  course,  on  the 
representative,  or  person  selected  to  collect  it.  There  are  persons  who  go  abroad 
almost  every  year  who  doubtless  could  collect  some  of  this  information  without  much 
trouble,  but  the  committee  should  seek  rather  to  find  a  person,  if  possible,  who  would 
be  deeply  interested  in  the  work,  and  who  would  seek,  therefore,  to  bring  home  the 
fullest  and  the  best  results  possible  from  his  inquiries.  We  have  the  utmost  confidence 
in  the  committee,  and  believe  that  a  fit  selection  will  be  made.  Surely  the  Association 
cannot  spend  a  few  hundred  dollars,  in  our  judgment,  more  profitably  than  in  under- 
taking an  inquiry  of  this  kind. 

{From  Rhodes'  Journal  of  Banking  for  February,  1892.] 

SCHOOLS  OF   FINANCE  AND   ECONOMY. 

This  is  a  subject  of  the  greatest  interest  to  all  who  are  engaged  or  who  expect  to 
engage  in  the  business  of  banking  either  as  managing  officers,  as  directors  or  stock- 
holders, or  as  clerks  and  employees.  As  competition  and  the  increase  of  capital  nar- 
row the  avenues  of  wealth  to  the  beginner,  so  it  becomes  the  more  necessary  that  he 
should  be  carefully  fitted  to  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity.  To  the  employer 
and  manager,  it  is  at  the  present  day  even  more  important  than  those  upon  whom 
dependence  must  be  placed  for  the  detail  and  routine  of  the  busniess  should  be  trained 
and  capable  men.  In  England,  France  and  Germany,  and  other  old  countries,  the 
necessity  of  a  preliminarj'  training  for  bank  clerks  and  employees,  apart  from  the  spe- 
cific training  of  the  business  itself,  has  been  recognized,  and  the  methods  adopted  in 
those  countries  will  probably  give  some  idea  as  to  those  which  will  be  most  useful 
here.  In  1889  Mr.  William  H.  Rhawn  introduced  a  resolution  in  the  Executive  Coun- 
cil of  the  American  Bankers'  Association  to  appoint  a  committee  to  procure  the  prep- 
aration of  a  paper  upon  the  subject  of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  and  the 
education  of  business  men.  The  result  of  this  resolution  was  an  invitation  to  Prof. 
Edmund  J.  James,  Professor  of  Public  Finance  and  Administration  in  the  Wharton 
School  of  Finance  and  Economy  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia. 
Professor  James  accepted  the  invitation,  and  delivered  an  address  on  the  subject  men- 
tioned at  the  Convention  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association  held  at  Saratoga  in 
September,  1890.  Printed  copies  of  this  address  have  been  widely  distributed.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  held  after  the  Convention  of  1890,  the  Committee 
on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  was  reappointed,  Mr.  Rhawn  being  continued  as 
Chairman.  At  New  Orleans,  in  November  last,  he  made  a  report  to  the  Convention 
of  the  Association  then  in  session,  which  was  adopted,  in  which  it  was  suggested  that 
the  Association  cause  an  examination  to  be  made  into  schools  for  the  education  of 
business  men  in  operation  abroad,  and  send  some  eminent  man  of  learning  to  Europe 
for  the  purpose.  The  value  of  education  to  business  men  cannot  be  too  highly  esti- 
mated. A  recent  writer  says :  "  An  education  for  a  man  who  is  intending  to  pursue 
the  banking  business  ought  to  enlarge  his  mind  and  to  correct  his  view  of  life  so  as  to 
make  him  more  contented,  and  to  make  him  realize  that  great  happiness  may  be 
derived  from  doing  his  work  faithfully  whatever  it  may  be."  Upon  the  practical  value 
of  education  the  Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew  made  the  following  interesting  statement 
at  the  recent  Yale  Alumni  dinner:  "  A  careful  student  has  estimated  that  a  common 
school  education  adds  fifty  per  cent,  to  the  productive  power  of  the  lal)orcr,  an  academ- 
ical education  100  per  cent,  and  a  college  education  300  per  cent."  The  education 
of  business  men  is  a  subject  of  much  imi)ortance  to  the  members  of  the  American 
Bankers'  Association,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Association  to  do  all  in  its  power  to 
take  the  wisest  means  to  impress  ihc  valuc  of  such  education  upon  the  minds  of  all 
connected  with  banking  interests. 


EDUCATION  OF  BUSINESS  MEN -III. 


A     PLEA 


FOR   THE 


JJJ 


TOFCill£IlClAlJI(;HS(MS: 


AN      ADDRKSS 


BEFORE  THE  CONVENTION  OF  THE 


American  Bankers'  Association 


AT 


SAN  FRANCISCO,  SEPTEMBER  7,  1892, 


BY 


Prof.   KDNIUND  J.    JAIVLES,   Pl^.  D., 

U'HARTOy  SCHOOL    OF   FINANCE   AND   ECONOMY   OF    THE 
UNIVERSITY   OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 


PUBLISHED   BY 

AMERICAN      BANKERS'     ASSOCIATION, 

NENA,^     VORK. 
1893. 


coniiviittee 

On  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy 

OF 

EXECUTIVE   COUNCIL, 

AMERICAN  bankers'  ASSOCIATION. 


William  H.  Rhawn,  Chairman, 
President,  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  Philadelphia. 

George  S.  Coe, 
President,  American  Exchange  National  Bank,  New  York. 

Lyman  J.  Gage, 
President,  First  National  Bank,  Chicago. 

Morton  McMichael, 
Cashier,  First  National  Bank,  Philadelphia. 

George  A,  Butler, 
President  National  Tradesmen's  Bank,  New  Haven. 


CDfficcvs 

OF   THE 


AMERICAN  BANKERS'  ASSOCIATION, 

Januai'y,  1893, 


President  : 
WILLIAM  H.  RHAWN,  President  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  Philadelphia. 

First  Vice-President: 
M.  M.  WHITE,  President  Fourth  National  Bank,  Cincinnati. 

Chairman   Executive  Council : 
E.  H.  PULLEN,  Vice-President  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  New  York. 

Treasurer : 
GEORGE  F.  BAKER,  President  First  National  Bank,  New  York. 

Secretary  : 
HENRY  W.  FORD,  128  Broadway,  New  York. 


Executive   Council. 


{^Members  ex -officio.) 
William  H.  Rhawn,  President  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
M.  M.  White,  President  Foiu-th  National  Bank,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

{Members  for  one  year.) 
George  S.  Coe,  President  American  Exchange  National  Bank,  New  York. 
Edward  B.  Judson,  President  First  National  Bank,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
Charles  Parsons,  President  State  Bank,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Edward  S.  Butts,  President  Vicksburg  Bank,  Vicksburg,  Miss. 
George  A.  Butler,  President  National  Tradesmen's  Bank,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
James  H.  Willock,  President  Second  National  Bank,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Morton  McMichael,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

{^Members  for  two  years.) 
Thomas  H.  Wilson,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Thomas  R.  Roach,  Cashier  Southern  National  Bank,  New  Orleans,  La. 
C.  0.  Billings,  President  Globe  National  Bank,  Boston,  Mass. 
John  R.  Mulvane,  President  Bank  of  Topeka,  Topeka,  Kansas. 
N.  B.  Van  Slyke,  President  First  National  Bank,  Madison,  Wis. 
R.  Dudley  Frayser,  President  Memphis  City  Bank,  Memphis,  Tenn. 
G.  A.  Van  Allen,  President  First  National  Bank,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

{^Members  for  three  years.) 
Richard  M.  Nelson,  President  Commercial  Bank,  Selma,  Ala. 
E.  H.  Pullen,  Vice-President  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  New  York. 
Thomas  Brown,  Cashier  Bank  of  California,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Frank  W.  Tracy,  President  First  National  Bank,  Springfield,  Ills. 
William  Dawson,  President  Bank  of  Minnesota,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
William  T.  Dixon,  President  National  Exchange  Bank,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Tom  Randolph,  President  Merchants'  and  Planters'  National  Bank,  Sherman,  Tex. 


Vice-Presidents. 


Alabama, 
Arizona, 
Arkansas, 
California, 

Colorado, 

Connecticut, 

Delaware, 

District  of  Columbia, 

Florida, 


Georgia, 
Idaho,    . 

Illinois, 
Indiana, 
Iowa, 
Kansas, 
Kentucky, 
Louisiana,     . 
Maine,  . 
Maryland, 

Massachusetts, 

Michigan, 

Minnesota, 

Mississippi, 

Missouri, 

Montana, 

Nebraska, 

Nevada, 

New  Hampshire, 

New  Jersey, 
New  Mexico, 
New  York,     . 
North  Carolina, 
North  Dakota, 
Ohio,      . 

Oklahoma,     . 

Oregon, 

Pennsylvania, 

Rhode  Island, 
South  Carolina, 
South  Dakota, 
Tennessee,    . 
Texas,   . 
Utah,     . 
Vermont, 

Virginia, 
Washmgton, 
"West.  Virginia, 
Wisconsin,   . 

Wyoming,     . 


T,  S.  Plowman,  President  First  National  Bank,  Talladega. 

B.  M.  Jacobs,  President  Arizona  National  Bank,  Tucson. 

H.  G.  Allis,  President  First  National  Bank,  Little  Rock. 

Frank  Miller,  Cashier  National  Bank  of  D.  O.  Mills  &  Co.,  Sacra- 

mento. 
Edward  L.  Raymond,  Vice-President  State  National  Bank,  Denver. 
Amos  W.  Prentice,  President  Norwich  Saving  Society,  Norwich. 
Edward  Betts,  President  First  National  Bank,  Wilmington. 
Charles  A.James,  President  National  Bank  of  Washington 
Daniel  G.  Ambler,  President  National  Bank  of  State  of  Florida, 

Jacksonville. 

F.  T.  Hardwick,  Manager  C.  L.  Hardwick  &  Co.,  Dalton. 
Peter  Sonna,  Vice-President   First  National  Bank  of  Idaho,  BdIsc 

City. 
John  C.  Neely,  Cashier  Merchants'  National  Bank,  Chicago. 
VoLNEY  T.  Malott,  President  Indiana  National  Bank,  Indianapolis. 
George  L.  Joy,  Vice-President  Sioux  National  Bank,  Sioux  City. 
J.  W.  Sponable,  President  Miami  County  National  Bank,  Paola. 
S.  K.  Sneed,  Cashier  Henderson  National  Bank,  Henderson, 
R.  M.  Walmsley,  President  Louisiana  National  Bank,  New  Orleans. 

E.  G.  Wyman,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Bangor. 

Douglas  H.  Thomas,  President  Merchants'   National  Bank,  Balti- 
more. 
Eustace  C.  Fitz,  President  Blackstone  National  Bank,  Boston. 
¥.  W.  Hayes,  Vice-President  Preston  National  Bank,  Detroit. 
H.  G.  Sidle,  President  First  National  Bank,  Minneapolis. 
James  P.  Roach,  President  First  National  Bank,  Vicksburg. 

G.  W.  Garrels,  Cashier  Franklin  Bank,  St.  Louis. 

S.  T.  Hauser,  President  First  National  Bank,  Helena. 

A.  U.  Wyman,  President  Omaha  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  Omaha. 

D.  A.  Bender,  President  First  National  Bank,  Reno. 

Lewis    Downing,   Jr.,    President     National    State    Capital    Bank, 

Concord. 
Heulings  Lippincott,  President  National  State  Bank,  Camden. 
S.  M.  Folsom,  President  Albuquerque  National  Bank,  Albuquerque. 
Henry  C.  Brewster,  Cashier  Traders'  National  Bank,  Rochester. 
William  E.  Breese,  President  First  National  Bank,  Asheville. 
M.  B.  Erskine,  President  First  National  Bank,  Fargo. 

F.  W.   Whitaker,   Vice-President   Miami   Valley   National    Bank, 

Hamilton. 

J.  W.  McNeal,  President  Guthrie  National  Bank,  Guthrie. 

H.  C.  Stratton,  Cashier  Portland  Savings  Bank,  Portland. 

John  K.  Ewing,  President  National  Bank  Fayette  County,  Union- 
town. 

Charles  F.  Sampson,  Cashier  National  Eagle  Bank,  Providence. 

Andrew  Simonds,  President  First  National  Bank,  Charleston. 

William  A.  Mackay,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Madison. 

]>.  R.  Strong,  President  East  Tennessee  National  Bank,  Knoxville. 

Henry  Exall,  Vice-President  North  Texas  National  Bank,  Dallas. 

Frank  Knox,  President  National  Bank  Republic,  Salt  Lake  City. 

Charles  W.  Woodhouse,  President  Merchants'  National  Bank, 
Burlington. 

A.  L.  Houiavare,  President  First  National  Bank,  Richmond. 

J.  Fur  III,  Cashier  Puget  Sound  National  Bank,  Seattle. 

J.  N.  Vance,  President  Exchange  Bank,  Wheeling. 

Charles  C.  Schmidt,  Cashier  Second  Ward  Savings  Bank,  Mil- 
waukee. 

Andrew  Gilchrist,  President  Stockgrowers'  National  Bank, 
Cheyenne. 


EXECUTIVE    COUNCIL, 

AMERICAN  BANKERS'  ASSOCIATION. 

Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy. 

Philadelphia,  March  i,  1893. 

In  October,  1889,  the  attention  of  the  Association  was  turned  to  the  subject  of  the 
higher  education  of  business  men,  and  a  Committee  was  appointed  by  the  Executive 
Council  to  procure  a  paper  to  be  read  at  the  next  Annual  Convention  upon  the  estab- 
lishment of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy,  taking  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance 
and  Economy  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  as  a  model.  Upon  the  invitation  of 
the  Committee,  Edmund  J.  James,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of  Public  Finance  and  Administra- 
tion in  the  Wharton  School,  prepared  and  read  a  paper  upon  the  subject  before  the 
Convention  of  the  Association  at  Saratoga,  in  September,  1890,  which,  with  the  plan 
and  curriculum  of  the  Wharton  School,  was  published  in  the  proceedings  of  that  year 
and  subsequently  as  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Education  of  Business  Men,"  copies  of 
which  were  sent  to  the  banks  and  bankers,  leading  newspapers  and  journals,  and  to 
the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  country,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  presenting  and 
commending  the  Wharton  School  idea  to  bankers,  educators,  editors  and  others,  trust- 
ing by  this  means  to  encourage  the  wealthy  and  beneficent  to  aid  iu  the  founding  of 
such  schools  in  connection  with  our  universities  and  colleges.  A  large  number  of 
letters  were  received  in  reply,  strongly  commending  the  action  of  the  Association  and 
the  establishment  of  such  schools,  many  of  which  letters  were  published  in  the  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Convention  at  New  Orleans  in  1891,  and  in  pamphlet  form  as  "Education 
of  Business  Men — II."  The  two  pamphlets  were  subsequently  published  as  one,  under 
the  title  of  "  Education  of  Business  Men — I.  and  II.,"  copies  of  which  were  widely  cir- 
culated and  may  be  had  at  the  ofifice  of  the  Association  upon  application. 

At  the  Convention  of  1891,  provision  was  made  for  the  continuance  of  the  work 
through  the  appointment  of  a  Standing  Committee  upon  the  subject,  which  was  charged 
with  the  duty  of  sending  an  eminent  man  of  learning  abroad  to  make  an  examination 
into  European  institutions  for  the  education  of  business  men.  For  this  work  recourse 
was  again  had  to  Professor  James  as  the  one  deemed  best  qualified,  by  reason  of  his 
learning,  zeal  and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  subject,  to  make  the  most  satisfactory 
examination,  and  he  was  duly  commissioned  by  the  Committee  to  undertake  the  task 
during  the  summer  of  1892.  Upon  his  return,  Professor  James  made  a  partial  report 
of  the  results  of  his  investigations  in  an  address  before  the  Convention  of  the  Associa- 
tion at  San  Francisco,  in  September  last,  which  was  published  in  the  Proceedings  of 
that  Convention  and  is  here  presented  as  "  Education  of  Business  Men — III."  Pro- 
fessor James  has  in  preparation  a  more  extensive  report,  which  will  be  duly  published 
and  announced  by  the  Association  under  the  title  of  "  Education  of  Business  Men  in 
Europe." 

It  is  believed  that  the  means  thus  taken  by  the  Association  to  present  the  need  and 
great  value  of  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  in  the  higher  education  of  business 
men  have  already  been  productive  of  good,  and  that  further  beneficent  results  will 
follow  to  encourage  the  Association  in  a  continuance  of  the  work. 

The  Committee  would  be  pleased  to  receive  information  as  to  the  founding  of  such 
schools  or  of  any  movements  in  progress  to  that  end.  Friendly  criticisms  and  sugges- 
tions are  also  invited. 

William  H.  Rhawx, 

Chairtnan. 


EDUCATION  OF  BUSINESS  MEN. 

Address  of  Edmund   J.  James,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of   Political  Science, 

Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy,  University 

OF  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia. 

Members  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association  : 

Gentlemen, — Two  years  ago  this  month,  at  the  meeting  of  your  Honorable  Associ- 
ation in  Saratoga,  I  had  the  honor  of  addressing  you  upon  the  subject  of  Schools  of 
Finance  and  Economy.  This  address  was  prepared  in  pursuance  of  an  invitation  of 
your  Committee  to  present  an  account  of  the  work  we  were  doing  in  Philadelphia  in 
the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  higher  education  of  business  men.  The  interest  which  your  Association 
had  previously  taken  in  this  important  subject  was  still  further  stimulated  by  the  dis- 
cussion which  followed  this  address.  As  the  result  of  a  continually  increasing  interest, 
your  honorable  body  determined  at  its  New  Orleans  meeting  last  autumn  to  include 
among  its  functions  the  promotion  of  sound  financial  education,  not  only  among  the 
employees  and  directors  of  banks,  but  also  in  the  public  at  large.  With  a  wise  fore- 
thought, the  problem  to  be  solved  received  the  most  general  formulation  possible,  and 
it  was  determined  to  begin  the  work  by  a  preliminary  investigation  into  the  actual  status 
of  business  education  at  home  and  abroad. 

Your  Committee  did  me  the  honor  of  inviting  me  to  visit  the  leading  centers  of  busi- 
ness education  in  Europe,  and  to  prepare  a  report  upon  the  subject  for  your  Associa- 
tion. I  responded  to  this  invitation  with  great  pleasure,  as  I  have  given  a  good  part  of 
the  best  years  of  my  life  to  the  theoretical  and  practical  study  of  this  question,  and  was 
glad  of  the  opportunity  of  making  a  systematic  study  of  recent  European  experience  on 
this  topic,  and  of  thus  extending  and  renewing  under  favorable  auspices  an  acquaint- 
ance begun  some  ten  years  ago  on  occasion  of  a  previous  trip  to  Europe  on  an  educa- 
tional mission, 

I  found  some  interesting  developments,  and  shall  treat  them  fully  in  the  report 
which  I  shall  hope  to  submit  to  your  Committee  for  publication  in  the  course  of  the 
winter.  I  shall  incorporate  in  this  report,  with  your  permission,  not  only  the  informa- 
tion which  will  be  of  most  immediate  interest  to  you,  but  also  such  details  relating  to 
subjects  and  methods  of  instruction  as  will  aid  our  institutions  of  learning  in  the 
establishment  and  development  of  similar  courses  wherever  the  circumstances  may 
make  it  appear  desirable. 

I  may  say  in  this  connection  that  in  many  respects  the  educational  facilities  of  the 
leading  countries  of  Western  Europe  are  far  superior  to  ours,  and  that  we  can  do  no 
better  thing  than  to  follow  carefully  the  course  of  educational  experimentation  in  that 
part  of  the  world.  I  bespeak,  therefore,  on  your  part  a  careful  examination  of  the 
report  which  I  shall  present,  being  convinced  that  each  of  you  will  find  something 
which  can  be  utilized  in  your  own  section  of  the  country  for  the  improvement  of  our 
educational  system. 

I  may  say,  moreover,  that  while  I  found  many  excellent  features  which  we  should 
do  well  to  imitate,  I  was  also  pleased  to  note  that  at  many  points  our  own  schools  and 
our  own  educational  system  are  far  superior  to  their  counterparts  in  Europe ;  so  that, 
if  on  the  one  hand  we  niay  learn  much  from  them,  they,  in  their  turn,  would  do  well 
to  examine  our  educational  methods  and  institutions. 

On  this  occasion,  then,  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  resolution  of  your  Associa- 
tion on  the  subject,  I  wish  to  invite  your  attention  to  the  consideration  of  the  general 
question  of  the  education  of  business  men. 

As  I  stated  in  the  address  previously  referred  to,  we  are  dependent  in  this  country 
for  the  improvement  of  our  educational  system  chiefly  upon  the  public  spirit  and 
initiative  enterprise  of  private  citizens.  If  any  American  citizen  is  persuaded  that  our 
■school  system  is  defective,  owing  to  the  lack  of  certain  necessary  elements,  or  that  our 
■schools  are  inefficient  owing  to  inadequate  equipment,  or  poorly  educated  teachers,  he 


must  either  start  a  school  himself,  if  he  be  a  teacher,  and  prove  by  its  success  that 
such  institutions  correspond  to  an  existing  want,  or  he  must  give  the  money  himself 
which  may  be  necessary  to  secure  the  establishment  of  such  an  institution,  or  must 
persuade  others  to  join  with  him  in  an  attempt  to  realize  in  a  concrete  form  his  ideas, 
hoping  that  if  he  can  show  in  one  case  good  results  it  may  lead  to  imitation  elsewhere, 
and  perhaps  finally  to  an  incorporation  of  similar  elements  in  the  general  educational 
system  of  the  countr}-. 

The  European,  and  more  especially  the  German  system,  is  different,  The  effort  of 
an  individual,  or  of  a  society  interested  in  the  promotion  of  public  education,  is  aimed 
directly  at  the  Government  in  the  person  of  the  Minister  of  Education.  The  attempt 
is  made  to  convince  the  Department  of  Education  that  the  proposed  improvement 
should  be  made,  and  the  feeling  is  general  that  having  gained  over  the  Government 
the  battle  is  won. 

This  system  has  its  advantages,  and  under  it  Germany  has  reached  the  very  head 
of  the  nations  in  all  that  pertains  to  education.  She  has  become  in  a  sense  in  all  that 
relates  to  pedagogics  the  schoolmaster  of  the  world. 

But,  however  good  this  system  may  be  for  Germany,  it  is  plain  that  it  is  not  adapted 
to  our  conditions.  It  is  evident  that  we  must  rely  on  public  sentiment  for  the  develop- 
ment of  our  educational  as  of  our  other  institutions.  This  method  has  the  great 
advantage  of  securing  a  strong  popular  backing  for  any  plan  which  may  be  finally 
adopted,  and  thus  insuring  its  success  from  the  beginning. 

Such  a  system,  however,  implies,  if  progress  is  to  be  rapid  and  continuous,  that 
every  American  citizen  shall  interest  himself  in  educational  matters,  that  he  shall  do 
whatever  he  can  at  every  point  to  stimulate  an  interest  in  educational  progress,  and 
aid  to  the  full  extent  of  his  ability  in  all  educational  enterprises.  It  means  that  if  he 
has  money,  he  shall  give  money;  if  he  has  influence,  he  shall  give  influence;  if  he  has 
time,  he  shall  give  time ;  if  he  has  strength,  he  shall  give  strength  to  this  most  impor- 
tant of  all  causes. 

As  varied  and  complex  as  are  the  wants  of  our  national  life,  so  varied  and  complex 
are  the  needs  of  our  educational  system.  It  behooves  us,  then,  as  American  citizens 
on  the  one  hand,  to  take  stock  from  time  to  time  of  cur  educational  instrumentalities, 
and  on  the  other,  to  canvass  our  educational  needs,  and  by  careful  comparison  ascertain 
whether  the  latter  are  fully  met  by  the  former.  If  we  should  find  that  there  is  an  edu- 
cational need,  and  no  corresponding  educational  institution,  it  becomes  our  duty  as- 
public-spirited  citizens  to  do  our  best  to  secure  the  establishment  of  such  institutions. 

The  country  is  under  obligations  to  the  American  Bankers'  Association  for  having 
undertaken  this  task  in  one  of  the  most  important  fields  of  education.  You  have  set 
in  motion  an  educational  force  of  no  mean  power,  whose  manifestations  will  be  regarded 
with  interest  by  every  thoughtful  and  public-spirited  citizen,  and  whose  action,  if  per- 
sistent and  wise,  may  affect  beneficially  the  educational  work  in  every  State  of  this 
great  Union. 

It  seems  likely  that  the  example  of  this  Association  may  be  followed  by  other 
associations  of  like  character,  which  may  take  up  as  their  special  fields  the  departments 
of  education  lying  nearest  to  their  own  work,  and  thus  an  educational  force  of  abso- 
lutely incalculable  power  will  have  been  put  in  motion  by  the  initiative  of  your  hon- 
orable body. 

Following,  then,  the  spirit  of  your  invitation,  I  shall  ask  your  attention  to  a  con- 
sideration of  the  general  problem  of  the  education  of  business  men. 

We  shall  be  able  to  appreciate  better  the  educational  bearing  of  the  question  if  we 
glance  at  the  history  of  education  in  this  country  during  the  last  century.  The  result 
of  recent  educational  development  may,  I  think,  be  summed  up  in  the  follow- 
ing statement  :  There  has  been  a  steadily  growing  belief  on  the  part  of  the  American 
public  in  the  value  of  systematic  school  training,  and  that  in  two  directions ;  first,  in 
the  desirability  of  a  wide  diffusion  of  elementary  education,  a  steadily  growing  con- 
viction that  all  classes  of  society — rich  and  poor  alike — should  have  a  thorough  train- 
ing in  the  elements  of  a  sounfl  English  education  ;  reading,  writing,  ciphering,  etc. 
Second,  in  the  desirability  of  some  special  professional  training  looking  to  the  calling 
one  expects  to  take  up.  There  is  at  this  moment  practically  no  longer  a  difference  of 
opinion  among  intelligent  people  on  the  fundamental  importance  of  a  sound  elemen- 
tary training.  As  to  the  second  (|uestion,  it  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  the  number  of 
those  who  believe  in  the  necessity  of  a  thorough  special  training  for  the  various  call- 


ings  of  life  is  steadily  increasing.  This  will  Ijecome  evident,  I  think,  to  any  one  who 
will  glance  over  the  educational  history  of  our  country  during  the  last  century  and  a 
quarter. 

In  1760,  toward  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  only  a  few  years  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  the  only  schools  in  this  country  w'ere  the  elementary 
school,  the  grammar  school  and  the  college.  Taking  the  country  as  a  whole,  it  cannot 
be  said  that  very  many  pupils  were  to  be  found  in  the  various  institutions.  A  knowl- 
edge of  the  three  R's  was  not  by  any  means  universal ;  the  grammar  schools 
were  not  numerous  or  largely  attended  ;  the  colleges  were  few  in  number  and  of 
small  size.  The  American  college  of  that  day  had  a  very  narrow  curriculum, 
consisting  chiefly  of  Latin,  Greek  and  Mathematics.  It  limited  itself  to  offering  a  so- 
called  liberal  education  to  such  young  men  as  w^ere  looking  forward  to  one  of  the 
learned  professions — law,  medicine,  or  theolog)'.  Aside  from  these  institutions,  there 
was  practically  no  opportunity  to  obtain  any  sort  of  systematic  school  training. 
There  was  no  Medical  School,  no  Law  School,  no  Technological  .School,  no  School  of 
Engineering,  no  Dental  School,  or  Veterinary  School,  or  Musical  Conservatory,  nor 
indeed  any  of  the  scores  of  special  institutions  now  open  to  the  youth  of  our  country. 

The  first  jirofessional  school  in  this  country  of  any  sort  was  the  Medical  School  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  which  was  founded  in  1763,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
second  quarter  of  this  century  that  any  special  schools,  except  those  for  Law,  Medicine 
and  Theology,  were  organized. 

With  the  introduction  of  the  Normal  Schools  about  1840  began  the  era  of  special 
schools  in  this  country,  and  from  that  date  to  this,  each  year  has  witnessed  not  only 
the  opening  of  new  professional  schools,  but  the  establishment  of  some  new  kind  of 
school  to  satisfy  the  demand  for  better  training  for  practical  life. 

To-day  we  have  schools  where  the  future  lawyer,  dentist,  veterinary  surgeon, 
clergyman,  civil  engineer,  mechanical  engineer,  architect,  musician,  painter,  elementary 
school  teacher  can  find  each  a  special  training  looking  toward  the  specific  duties  of 
his  future  calling.  Nor  are  the  special  schools  to  be  found  only  with  reference  to  the 
learned  or  quasi-learned  professions  just  mentioned.  They  are  springing  up  on  every 
hand  as  preparatory  institutions  for  the  mechanical  trades  as  well.  The  various 
manual  training  schools,  the  trade  schools,  and  institutes  of  all  kinds,  offer  to-day 
facilities  for  the  learning  of  plumbing,  carpentering,  iron  working,  typesetting.  In  a 
word,  ilic  era  of  systematic  training  in  an  educational  institution  for  the  active 
duties  of  life  as  opposed  to  the  era  of  haphazard  learning  one's  business  in  the 
office,  the  field  or  the  shop  seems  to  be  fairly  opened. 

Even  the  American  College  itself  has  felt  the  magic  influence  of  this  new  spirit. 
For  a  long  time  absolutely  inaccessible  to  any  appeals  for  a  broadening  or  specialization  of 
its  functions,  it  has  within  the  last  generation  entered  upon  a  new  career,  and  to-day  the 
man  who  wishes  to  jirepare  himself  to  teach  almost  any  branch  of  human  science  will 
find  somewhere  in  our  American  college  or  university  system  an  opportunity  to  get 
that  special  training  which  underlies  the  highest  sort  of  work  in  ever\'  department. 

It  would  be  a  grave  mistake  to  suppose  that  this  development  has  gone  on  spon- 
taneously, or  quietly  or  uniformly.  Every  step  in  this  line  of  progress  has  been  achieved 
in  the  face  of  indifference  or  of  active  and  often  bitter  opposition.  It  has  been  in  nearly 
every  case  the  work  of  a  few  men  of  superior  insight  and  foresight ;  of  men  w'ho 
having  discovered  a  need  had  the  energy  and  public  spirit  to  initiate  and  prosecute  a 
movement  which  should  end  in  its  satisfaction.  And  even  now  there  are  few  portions 
of  the  country  where  the  special  schools  mentioned  above  e.xist  in  sufficient  numbers 
to  meet  the  demand.  Nor  can  it  be  said  that  the  victory  is  yet  won,  in  the  sense  that 
all  people  are  convinced  of  the  wisdom  of  the  movement ;  but  only  that  the  number  of 
adherents  of  this  tendency  is  rapidly  increasing,  and  the  active  opposition  is  steadily 
diminishing. 

-'-  Even  now  you  can  find  a  physician  here  and  there  who  advises  a  young  man  not 
to  go  to  a  medical  school,  but  rather  to  learn  medicine  in  his  office  and  by  accom- 
panying him  on  his  rounds.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  lawyer  to  advise  his  young 
f  I  lend  who  is  ambitious  to  enter  the  legal  career  not  to  waste  his  time  in  a  law  school. 
There  are  still  clergymen  who  depreciate  the  advantages  of  theological  seminaries. 
Vou  will  still  find  engineers  who  think  the  way  they  learned  the  business,  viz.:  practical 
field  work,  the  best.  But  on  the  whole,  it  is  now  perfectlv  clear  where  the  victor)-  in 
this   contest    lies.     With  every  improvement  in  our  special  schools,  and  fortunately 


10 

for  us  this  improvement  is  proceeding  rapidly,  the  ratio  of  those  who  seek  a  preliminary- 
preparation  for  life  through  them  rather  than  in  the  immediate  entrance  into  the  shop, 
the  ofRce,  or  the  pulpit  is  bound  to  increase.  The  victory  of  thewell-planncd,  careftiUy 
elaborated,  ivell-tatight  curriculum  of  the  special  school  over  the  haphazard  pick- 
■up-as-you-can  training  of  so-called  practical  life  is  as  sure  in  the  domain  of  iron 
and  wood  work  as  in  that  of  law  and  medicine;  and  that  victor)'  is  sure  and  speedy 
in  proportion  as  the  demand  for  efficiency  becomes  more  imperative. 

You  will  note  that  I  have  said  nothing  about  the  necessity  of  liberal  education.  It 
is  not  because  I  do  not  regard  it  as  of  the  highest  importance,  but  because  it  does  not 
immediately  concern  the  point  I  am  presenting.  The  need  of  the  special  school  is  im- 
perative alike  for  the  college  graduate  and  the  farm  hand  from  the  plough  tail.  The 
most  extensive  study  of  Latin,  Greek  and  Mathematics,  Literature  and  History  does 
not  dispense  with  the  necessity  of  careful  medical  training  for  the  future  physician  or 
of  careful  legal  training  for  the  future  lawyer,  though  it  may  well  be  that  the  special 
school  for  the  man  with  extensive  liberal  training  should  be  separated  from  that  for  the 
man  with  defective  training  in  this  respect. 

I  said  a  moment  ago  that  this  educational  development  in  the  direction  of  special 
schools  had  been  in  our  country  very  unequal.  This  inequality  has  been  especially 
visible  in  two  respects.  In  the  first  place,  geographically,  in  that  certain  portions  of 
our  country  have  not  kept  pace  with  others  in  the  development  of  their  special  schools, 
so  that  if  a  boy  wishes  to  get  the  aid  of  systematic  training  along  certain  lines,  he  may 
have  to  go  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  miles  to  get  it.  In  the  second  place,  ma- 
teriall}^  in  that  certain  departments  of  our  national  life  have  been  almost  entirely 
neglected  in  this  development,  or  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  say  they  have  not  yet 
been  reached. 

On  this  occasion  we  have  to  do  with  such  a  department.  The  great  field  of  com- 
mercial life  and  activity  in  which  so  many  thousands  and  millions  of  our  fellow-citizens 
are  engaged  has  received  (with  a  single  exception  to  be  discussed  later)  almost  no 
attention  on  its  educational  side.  The  lawyer,  the  physician,  the  clergyman,  the 
engineer,  the  farmer,  the  teacher,  has,  as  we  have  seen,  his  special  school  whose  cur- 
riculum discusses  the  matters  he  needs  to  know  in  his  future  work.  The  merchant, 
the  banker,  the  insurance  director,  the  railroad  manager,  the  business  man  in  general, 
is  to-day  where  he  was  a  century  ago,  so  far  as  his  business  was  then  in  existence. 
He  must  enter  the  counting-house  or  the  office  and  learn  his  business  as  best  he  can 
without  systematic  assistance.  The  only  educational  help  open  to  him  is  that  which 
may  come  to  him  in  common  with  every  other  member  of  society  in  the  form  of  a 
liberal  education  extending,  if  he  please,  through  the  college. 

Of  course,  there  are  many  who  maintain  that  this  is  well ;  that  nothing  else  is  need- 
ful or  desirable  ;  in  other  words,  many  in  this  field  who  present  the  same  considera- 
tions which  have  so  often  done  duty  in  opposing  the  organization  of  special  schools  for 
other  callings.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  I  do  not  agree  with  them,  and  the 
object  of  this  paper  is  to  set  forth  the  results  of  a  careful  study  of  this  subject  in 
Europe  and  America. 

Before  setting  forth  the  general  scheme  of  commercial  education,  to  which  I  wish 
1o  call  your  attention,  it  may  be  worth  our  while  to  guard  against  a  common  miscon- 
"ception.  When  we  speak  of  obtaining  in  a  special  school,  such  as  law,  medicine, 
engineering,  architecture,  etc.,  a  preparation  for  the  practical  duties  of  life,  we  do  not 
■mean,  of  course,  that  such  a  school  can  in  any  sense  do  away  with  the  necessity  of  prac- 
tical experience  in  an  office,  shop  or  field.  Practice  is  learned  by  practice  after  all,  and 
no  amount  of  theoretical  work  can  take  the  place  of  actual  contact  with  the  real  prob- 
lems of  the  various  vocations.  We  do  mean,  however,  that  a  certain  combination  of 
school  and  practice  can  be  made  by  which  the  youth  will  get  a  better  basis  for  future 
work  than  if  he  had  relied  upon  practice  alone.  Certain  aspects  of  the  calling  can  be 
systematically  treated  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  a  youth  niucli  knowledge  in  a  short 
time  which  it  might  otherwise  have  taken  him  years  to  accjuirc.  It  is  possible,  more- 
over, to  call  his  attention  to  many  things  and  train  him  to  habits  of  observation  through 
which  he  can  acquire  experience  much  more  rapidly. 

Another  very  common  misconception  attril)uted  to  the  school  is  the  attempt  to  make 
a  man.  This,  of  course,  it  cannot  do.  Ability,  after  all,  is  fundamental,  and  no  amount 
of  school  training  can  make  the  dullard  a  genius.  On  tlie  otlier  hand,  careful  syste- 
matic training  will  enable  even  the  dullard  to  make  the  most  of  himself,  and  may 


11 

assist  in  curing  the  genius  to  some  extent  of  his  vagaries — a  form  of  disease  to  which 
geniuses  are  peculiarly  liable,  whether  in  hanking  or  other  business. 

To  set  forth  the  matter  in  hand  briefly  :  Our  cducathmal  system  should  contain  a 
series  of  special  schools  whose  curriculum  should  have  in  mind  the  wants  of  the 
future  business  man.  These  schools  should  be  so  arranged  that  they  could  take  our 
boys  at  the  age  they  are  obliged  to  leave  school,  and  give  them  a  systematic,  well- 
rounded,  special  training,  as  thorough  and  detailed  as  circumstances  may  ])ermit. 

This  calls  for  at  least  two  grades  of  schools  :  commercial  high  schools  of  a  grade 
similar  to  that  of  our  ordinary  village  and  city  high  schools,  intended  especially  for 
those  whose  time  or  means  do  not  allow  them  to  go  to  school  beyond  the  seventeenth 
or  eighteenth  year;  and  schools  of  finance  and  economy,  of  college  or  university  grade,' 
intended  especially  for  those  who  can  pursue  their  education  to  the  twenty-first  or 
twenty-second  year.  These  institutions  should  give  a  carefully  elaborated  curriculum 
based  on  scientific  principles  and  adapted  to  the  educational  possibilities  of  their  respec- 
tive students.  There  should  be  also  technical  schools  pursuing  chiefly  ])ractical  ends 
like  stenography,  typewriting,  etc.,  similar  to  our  present  so-called  commercial  colleges. 

At  present  we  have  no  commercial  high  schools  of  adequate  grade  at  all ;  we  have 
many  so-called  commercial  colleges,  and  before  passing  on  to  the  more  detailed  con- 
sideration of  the  first  two  classes,  I  should  like  to  say  a  word  about  the  commercial 
colleges.  This  class  of  schools  has  been  bitterly  attacked  by  educational  men  of  all 
parties ;  I  think  oftentimes  very  unjustly.  I  think  we  may  say  that  when  such  a  large 
number  of  schools  manage  to  exist  for  so  long  a  period  it  must  be  because  they  really 
fill  a  great  public  need,  and  the  only  way  to  dispose  of  them,  if  it  be  desirable  to  dis- 
pose of  them,  is  to  provide  in  some  other  way  for  the  satisfaction  of  this  need.  We 
can  dispose  of  a  commercial  college  only  by  supplying  a  better  school  to  take  its  place. 

Moreover,  I  am  sure  that  considering  the  real  aim  they  have  in  view,  and  disre- 
garding their  pretensions,  they  are  really,  in  their  best  specimens,  excellent  schools  of 
their  kind,  fully  ecjual  to  the  best  to  be  found  in  any  other  country.  They  are  not  really 
educational  institutions  in  the  highest  sense  at  all,  but  practical  training  places  for  sub- 
ordinate employees  in  oifices,  and  as  such  fill  a  real  need. 

I  shall  ask  you  to  look  at  this  problem  of  commercial  education  from  a  threefold 
point  of  view :  first,  that  of  the  efficiency  of  our  educational  system  as  a  whole ; 
second,  that  of  the  interests  of  business  life  in  general;  third,  that  of  the  social  and 
economic  advantage  of  society. 

The  interests  of  our  general  educational  system  demand  the  establishment  of 
good  commercial  high  schools,  and  of  good  schools  of  finance  and  economy.  The 
grade  and  rank  of  an  educational  system  can  be  raised  only  in  proportion  as  it  incor- 
porates within  itself  a  sufficient  variety  of  elements  to  correspond  to  the  varied  wants 
of  the  society  it  serves.  1  am  aware  that  this  principle  will  not  be  accepted  without 
question,  since  nothing  is  more  common  than  to  hear  the  statement  that  we  should 
improve  our  existing  schools  rather  than  turn  attention  to  new  ones;  that  we  should 
concentrate  our  attention  upon  our  lower  schools  and  let  the  higher  ones  take  care  of 
themselves. 

All  history  proves  the  truth  of  the  opposite  view.  The  elementary  schools  can 
improve  only  as  the  level  of  the  higher  is  raised,  and  that  from  two  causes.  On  the 
one  hand,  the  lower  schools  can  be  improved  only  as  the  teachers  grow  better;  and 
the  teachers  can,  as  a  body,  grow  better  only  as  the  schools  where  they  receive  their 
training  are  improved.  On  the  other  hand,  the  lower  schools  can  be  improved  only  as 
the  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  schools  is  strengthened,  and  as  it  has  at  hand  the 
means  of  measuring  the  relative  efficiency  of  school  systems.  But  these  latter  elements 
depend  upon  the  existence  of  many  high-grade  schools  of  superior  rank.  It  is  a 
commonplace  in  education,  that  improvement  comes  from  the  top  down  and  not  from 
the  bottom  up. 

It  is  equally  true  that  the  different  elements  in  a  school  system  can  be  improved 
only  as  the  system  itself  gradually  incorporates  all  the  varied  elements  necessarj-  to 
answer  the  pui)lic  wants,  just  as  in  an  organic  body  the  highest  usefulness  of  any 
given  part  is  dependent  upon  a  harmonious  combination  of  many  different  organs.  The 
public  interest  in  an  educational  system  increases  as  it  answers  more  and  more  fully 
an  increasing  number  of  wants,  and  from  this  public  interest  every  part  profits. 

It  is  a  commonly  observed  and  much  lamented  fact,  that  in  many  portions  of  the 
United  States  the  proportion  of  boys  in  our  public  high  schools  is  decreasing,  or  at 


12 

least  is  not  increasing,  as  one  interested  in  public  education  would  like  to  see  it,  and 
that  in  all  places  the  number  of  boys  at  school  diminishes  very  rapidly  as  one  goes 
up  in  the  different  grades. 

What  is  the  reason  of  this  phenomenon  ?  One  very  important  reason  is,  of  course, 
that  the  economic  condition  of  the  mass  of  our  people  is  such  that  they  cannot  afford 
to  keep  their  boys  in  school  after  their  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  year.  They  must  at 
that  age  begin  to  earn  something.  Of  course  it  would  make  little  difference  to  those 
who  are  absolutely  obliged  to  quit,  what  the  subsequent  course  of  the  school  may  be. 
But  there  are  many  boys  whose  parents  could  keep  them  at  school  some  years  longer 
if  they  felt  that  the  advantage  to  be  derived  from  such  further  schooling  would  over- 
balance the  sacrifices  they  must  make  to  render  it  possible.  At  present,  the  only- 
higher  school  open  to  them  is  the  ordinary  literary  high  school,  and  while  they  would 
be  glad  if  their  children  could  get  this  additional  training,  they  are  not  convinced  that 
it  is  so  valuable  that  they  can  afford  the  necessary  sacrifice.  Now,  if  there  were  a 
school  of  the  same  grade  as  the  high  school,  with  a  curriculum  so  elaborated  and  ad- 
justed as  to  prepare  a  boy  immediately  for  practical  commercial  work,  hundreds  of 
parents  would  say  that  is  worth  having.  Our  boys  must  take  it.  The  result  would  be 
that  a  new  class  of  boys  would  be  reached  by  our  educational  system — a  new  line  of 
interest  enlisted  in  its  behalf. 

This  fact  was  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  establishment  of  the  so-called  manual 
training  high  schools  in  our  various  cities,  such  as  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis  and  Chicago. 
An  entirely  new  class  of  boys  was  reached  ;  the  public  interest  in  the  high  school 
system  in  general  immensely  increased,  and  the  whole  school  system,  public  and  private, 
strengthened. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  if  commercial  high  schools  were  established  with  three  and 
four-year  courses,  looking  directly  towards  practical  business  life,  a  similar  result  would 
show  itself.  New  classes  of  the  community  would  be  interested  in  our  school  system, 
and  every  part  of  the  system  would  feel  the  beneficial  effects  of  this  new  interest. 

It  is  exactly  in  this  field  that  the  movement  for  commercial  education  in  Western 
Europe  shows  the  most  marked  and  satisfactory  success.  In  Germany,  France,  Italy 
and  Austria  a  most  excellent  system  of  commercial  high  schools  has  been  developed, 
which  forms  one  of  the  most  striking  and  valuable  features  of  their  educational  systems. 
The  full  description  of  typical  schools  of  this  sort  I  shall  give  in  the  report  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  you. 

I  will  only  mention  here  the  three-year  course  in  the  Commercial  Academy  in 
Vienna,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  successful  of  these  schools  in  Europe. 
This  course  embraces  the  study  of  accounting  in  all  its  different  grades  ;  of  at  least 
two  modern  languages,  usually  French  and  English,  besides  the  mother  tongue ;  of 
commercial  geography,  of  history,  of  commerce,  of  mercantile  law  and  practice  ;  of 
the  history,  distribution  and  modes  of  manufacture  of  commercial  products ;  of  money, 
banking  and  insurance;  of  political  economy,  of  tariff  legislation,  of  international  ex- 
change, etc.,  etc.  In  a  word,  the  curriculum  consists  of  such  branches  of  study  as  have  a 
pretty  direct  bearing  upon  the  habits  and  customs  of  trade. 

Nor  is  the  instruction  a  mere  process  of  cramming  in  facts  relating  to  industry 
and  commerce.  It  is  given  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  the  largest  educational  ad- 
vantages from  such  material  of  instruction.  Its  aim  is  training  in  the  habits  and 
knowledge  necessary  or  desirable  for  the  business  man  ;  and  I  must  say  that  the 
general  knowledge  of  industry'  and  commerce  displayed  by  those  boys  of  from  fifteen 
to  eighteen  would  put  to  shame  many  a  practical  business  man  of  years  standing.  It 
is  not  a  free  school.  On  the  contrary,  the  tuition  is  high  for  Austrian  conditions.  In 
spite  of  this  fact  it  has  in  attendance  on  the  three-year  course  over  six  hundred  boys; 
and  that  although  there  are  other  commercial  schools  in  Vienna.  This  school  is, 
moreover,  not  a  government,  but  a  private  school.  It  is  founded  and  is  conducted  by  a 
joint  stock  comjjany  of  public-spirited  citizens,  who  chose  the  foini  of  a  corporation 
with  shares  as  the  most  convenient  system  of  organization. 

The  instruction  in  this  sciiool  in  commercial  geogra])hy  and  similar  branches  is 
excellent.  Many  of  these  subjects  of  instruction  are  al)sokitely  unknown  in  our  schools, 
either  lower  or  higher;  and  while  this  school  is  only  oni-  (i)erha|)s  it  is  true),  the  best 
one,  of  many  similar  schools  in  Austria,  we  have  not  in  the  United  .States  a  single  such 
school.  Indeed,  so  far  are  we  in  this  respect  behind  Austria,  a  country  on  which 
Americans  are  accustomed  to  look  as  in  some  respects  centuries  behind  the  times,  that  if 


13 

one  of  you  gentlemen  were  to  offer  the  money  to-morrow  to  open  such  a  school,  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  tind  suitably  ])repared  teachers  for  it  in  the  United  States  of 
America. 

Of  the  students  in  the  Academy  at  Vienna,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  only  a  small  part 
would  be  at  school  at  all  if  this  particular  institution  answering  to  their  special  wants 
were  not  in  existence.  It  is  also  interesting  to  note  that  the  bankers  and  other  busi- 
ness men  of  Vienna  appreciate  the  advantages  of  this  school,  as  their  applications  for 
clerks,  bookkeepers,  etc.,  etc.,  far  outrun  the  ability  of  the  school  to  satisfy  them. 
What  is  true  of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy  is  true  of  the  other  schools  of  like 
kind  in  Austria,  of  the  schools  of  commerce  in  France,  Italy,  Germany,  Switzerland, 
Belgium  and  Holland. 

I  wish  to  emphasize  again,  as  strongly  as  I  can,  that  these  schools  are  of  secondary 
grade,  answering,  as  far  as  the  age  of  pupils  is  concerned,  to  our  ordinary  literary  high 
schools  in  the  larger  towns  and  cities.  No  progressive  continental  nation  would  think 
to-day  of  being  satisfied  simply  v-iih  the  ordinary  high  school  of  our  American  com- 
munities. The  conviction  is  growing  with  them  that  the  commercial  high  school  is 
an  absolutely  essential  element  of  the  educational  system  side  by  side  with  the  literary 
high  school  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  manual  training  high  school  on  the  other. 

I  wish  to  emphasize,  moreover,  the  fact  that  these  schools  are  radically  different 
institutions  from  our  ordinary  commercial  colleges.  They  are  first  of  all  educational 
institutions,  with  a  carefully  constructed  curriculum,  looking  toward  developing  the 
moral  qualities  needed  by  the  future  business  man,  at  the  same  time  that  they  give  the 
information  which  will  be  found  useful  in  the  daily  round  of  business  toil.  ^ — 

What  I  have  said  thus  far  as  to  the  beneficial  effect  of  establishing  secondary 
schools  for  commercial  education,  upon  the  educational  system  as  a  whole,  is  equally 
true  of  our  system  of  higher  education.  The  growth  and  development  of  our  colleges 
and  universities  will  depend  in  the  future,  as  it  has  in  the  past,  upon  the  extent  to 
which  these  institutions  are  able  to  discern  the  public  needs  and  to  devise  methods  of 
satisfying  them. 

So  long  as  the  American  university  limited  itself  to  giving  a  liberal  education, 
which,  although  of  undoubted  value  to  any  one  who  would  take  it,  no  matter  what  his 
future  calling,  was  yet  especially  adapted  (if  not  intended)  for  the  future  clergyman, 
the  number  of  people  interested  directly  and  immediately  in  its  prosperity  was  rela- 
tively small.  To-day,  where  it  has  in  its  most  developed  specimens  undertaken  to 
provide  facilities  for  the  special  education  of  the  lawyer,  jihysician,  teacher,  engineer, 
farmer,  etc.,  the  general  interest  in  its  progress  and  prosperity  is  rapidly  increasing. 
This  is  to  be  seen  not  merely  by  the  increasing  benefactions  of  private  individuals  for 
this  purpose,  but  by  the  willingness  of  American  communities,  as  such,  to  grant  aid  in 
one  form  or  another  to  such  institutions.  The  rapidly  increasing  grants  to  State  uni- 
versities testify  in  the  most  unmistakable  way  to  this  fact. 

The  time  has  surely  come  when  these  higher  institutions  would  find  it  to  their  own 
pecuniary  interest  to  enlist  the  direct  and  immediate  co-operation  of  the  great  business 
world  by  undertaking  to  provide  courses  of  instruction  of  college  and  university  grade 
for  those  young  men  who  are  looking  forward  to  a  business  career.  Such  courses  are 
a  desirable,  indeed  we  may  say  a  necessary,  complement  of  existing  forces,  and  by 
their  establishment  another  step  would  be  taken  toward  the  realization  of  the  complete 
and  rounded  university,  which  will  include  within  itself  special  courses  leading  to  all 
those  careers  for  w-hich  a  higher  curriculum  based  on  thorough  scientific  training  is 
necessary  or  desirable. 

We  may  say  here  that  Europe  has  no  such  schools  at  all,  and  only  a  very  few 
courses  of  similar  grade.  What  is  done  in  this  direction  on  the  Continent  and  in  Eng- 
land will  be  set  forth  in  the  report  ;  but  it  will  appear  from  that  account  that  the  idea 
still  prevails  on  both  sides  of  the  Channel  that  business  men  need  only  a  secondary-, 
not  a  higher  education.  This  is  a  natural  result  of  their  idea  that  business  is  a  lower 
and  more  unworthy  calling  than  the  professions  or  the  public  service,  for  which  advanced 
educational  opportunities  are  provided,  and  of  the  notion  that  only  such  people  go 
into  business  as  are  too  stupid  or  lazy  to  study,  or  too  poor  to  attend  higher  schools. 
In  this  respect  also  Europe  has  its  lessons  for  us,  but  they  are  of  the  warning  sort, 
and  its  system  offers  us  little  to  imitate  and  much  to  avoid. 

If  then  the  establishment  of  commercial  courses  of  secondary  and  higher  grades  is 
demanded  in  the  interest  of  our  educational   system,  in  order  to  secure  the  maximum 


14 

of  efficiency,  it  is  none  the  less  necessary  in  the  interest  of  business  and  business  life 
itself. 

I  am  aware  that  in  touching  on  the  value  of  higher  education  for  business  men  I 
am  on  disputed  ground.  Some  of  the  most  eminent  and  successful  business  men  of 
our  country  have  declared  openly  that  a  college  education,  for  example,  is  of  no  par- 
ticular value  to  the  future  business  man ;  and  some  indeed  have  gone  so  far  as  to  say 
that  it  is  rather  an  injur)-  than  a  benefit. 

So  far  as  the  college  education  as  it  has  been  up  to  the  present  is  concerned,  much 
may  be  said  on  both  sides  of  the  question.  It  would  seem,  indeed,  on  general 
principles,  that  a  curriculum  which  had  in  view  the  special  wants  of  the  future  pro- 
fessional man,  would  not  be  likely  to  serve  so  well  the  purpose  of  the  future  business 
man.  And  I  take  it  that  no  one  who  as  student  and  professor  has  had  occasion  to 
become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  our  college  and  university  instruction,  can  deny 
that  the  tendency  of  such  education  is  away  from  business  and  toward  the  professions. 
The  study  of  Latin  and  Greek  grammar,  of  Latin  and  Greek  literature,  of  Prose, 
Poetr}-,  Art,  so  far  as  it  has  a  real  and  vigorous  effect  upon  the  student,  must  tend  to 
develop  his  taste  for  a  life  of  study  rather  than  for  a  life  of  such  activity  as  charac- 
terizes the  modern  business  world.  It  may,  moreover,  be  stated  with  considerable 
truth,  that  the  ranks  of  business  men  in  our  country  to-day  do  not  include  many  col- 
lege graduates,  and  that  this  of  itself  is  a  proof  that  high  school  and  college  education 
does  not  prepare  for  a  business  life. 

It  may,  however,  be  urged  on  the  other  hand  that  a  high  school  or  college  course 
even  when  made  up  chiefiy  of  mathematics  and  the  classics  tends  to  develop  those 
moral  and  intellectual  qualities  which  are  of  use  in  all  callings  in  life.  Power  to  see 
clearly,  to  distinguish  the  important  from  the  unimportant,  honesty,  integrity  of  purpose, 
and  moral  courage  are  all  as  necessary  to  business  men  as  to  clergymen  or  physicians. 
The  number  of  college  men  in  business  is,  moreover,  by  no  means  so  small  as  is  often 
stated,  and  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  successful  business  man,  who  is  also  a  college 
graduate,  almost  uniformly  attributes  a  large  part  of  his  success  to  the  qualities  which 
his  college  course  helped  to  develop. 

However,  wherever  the  truth  may  lie  in  this  discussion,  the  question  we  have  before 
us  is  a  somewhat  different  one.  The  college  curriculum  of  the  past  may  not  have  been 
of  use  to  the  business  man,  while  the  college  curriculum  of  the  future  may  be  made  so. 
Latin,  Greek  and  Mathematics  may  seem  to  have  only  a  remote  bearing  on  the  prob- 
lems of  ever)'-day  business  life.  But  surely  the  study  of  political  economy,  finance, 
banking,  railroading,  insurance,  merchandising,  leads  directly  and  immediately  to  the 
practical  affairs  of  modern  trade  and  industr)'. 

It  may  well  be,  though  I  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  I  leave  the  question  here 
open,  as  its  discussion  is  not  necessary  to  my  argument ;  it  may  well  be,  I  say,  that  a 
school  and  college  training,  which  takes  the  boy  for  six  to  eight  years,  or  even  more, 
out  of  the  relations  of  modern  American  life  and  transplants  him  to  the  shores  of  the 
ancient  Mediterranean  Sea,  feeds  him  on  Greek  roots  and  the  Latin  subjunctive,  trains 
his  fancy  with  the  story  of  the  Trojan  war  and  the  myths  of  early  Rome,  holds  up  to 
his  admiring  gaze  the  bloody  feats  of  an  Alexander  or  a  Sulla,  encourages  him  to 
imitate  a  Demosthenes  or  a  Cicero  ;  I  say  such  a  training  may  easily  transfer  his  center 
of  interest  from  modern  to  ancient  life,  from  America  to  Europe,  from  external  activity 
to  inward  reflection,  from  business  to  the  professions. 

But  this  would  not  be  true  of  a  school  or  college  training,  which  makes  the  industry 
of  the  world,  and  especially  of  the  modern  world,  the  center  of  its  work  and  thought. 
Such  a  training  would  have  for  a  chief  object  to  interest  the  youth  in  industry.  It 
would  be,  in  brief,  a  study  of  trade  and  industry  in  all  their  ramifications.  It  would  be 
a  study  of  civilization  from  the  industrial  standpoint. 

It  would  include  a  view  of  the  rise,  development  and  present  condition  of  the  great 
branches  of  human  industry.  It  would  consider  not  only  the  actual  facts  of  industrial 
life,  but  their  relations  and  the  reason  for  their  existence,  thus  rising  from  the  level  of 
a  mere  empirical  oljservation  of  phenomena  to  a  philoso])hic  and  scientific  study  of 
their  connection. 

Why  did  certain  branches  of  industry  rise  in  certain  i)laces ;  what  were  the  geo- 
gra|)hical  or  climatic  conditions  favoring  their  development ;  on  the  existence  of  what 
other  branches  of  industry  were  they  dependent .''  Why  did  they  decline  and  disap- 
pear ?     Were  there  industrial  possibilities  which  were  not  utilized  ?     What  could  have 


15 

been  done  to  prevent  decay  ?  What  were  the  interrelations  with  other  branches  of 
industry  ?  These  are  some  of  the  questions  relating  to  the  histor}'  of  industn,-  which 
such  a  curriculum  would  include.  The  attention  of  the  youth  would  be  directed  to  the 
deeper  causes  underlying  the  growth  of  industry;  to  the  interdependence  of  various 
branches  of  trade  and  commerce,  to  the  solidarity  of  industrial  progress  in  general. 

Take  for  example  the  subject  of  money  and  banking.  Not  only  would  the  cur- 
riculum include  an  ex])osition  of  the  various  kinds  of  money  in  use  in  the  United  States 
and  Europe,  with  an  account  of  their  origin  and  development,  but  also  a  considera- 
tion of  the  functions  of  money  in  general,  of  the  characteristics  of  a  good  and  bad 
money,  of  a  single  and  double  standard,  of  metallic  and  paper  money,  of  treasury 
notes  and  bank  notes,  of  a  redeemable  and  irredeemable  paper  currency,  etc.  It  would 
also  include  a  descri])tion  of  the  various  kinds  of  banks  now  in  existence,  their  special 
functions,  of  their  relations  to  one  another,  of  their  services  to  other  branches  of  busi- 
ness, of  their  organization  and  management.  Nor  would  it  be  content  with  a  mere 
descrii)tion,  but  it  would  everywhere  go  to  the  very  root  of  matters  by  always  raising 
the  question,  why.'  The  study  of  the  National  Bank  Act  would  not  be  limited  to  a 
mere  reading  or  learning  of  its  different  provisions ;  but  would  include  a  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  reasons  which  led  to  the  incorporation  of  the  various  features  of  the 
system  ;  a  consideration  of  all  the  pros  and  cons  of  each  disputed  question  ;  a  com- 
parison of  each  peculiarity,  with  the  corresponding  features  of  previous  American 
systems  and  of  previous  or  existing  European  systems.  The  study  of  each  of  these 
subjects  would  be  closed  with  the  question  :  Are  there  still  unutilized  possibilities  .■* 
Are  there  still  new  functions  for  existing  banks  or  new  fields  for  now  unknown  kinds 
of  banks  ?  Is  the  existing  bank  practice  of  the  West  better  than  that  of  the  East ;  of 
the  United  States  than  that  of  Europe  ;  of  the  present  than  that  of  the  past  }  Are 
future  improvements  possible  }  If  so,  along  what  line  ?  What  are  legitimate  and 
illegitimate  functions  of  banks?  How  can  they  best  serve  their  fundamental  purposes, 
etc.,  etc.  .•• 

Of  course,  in  all  this,  there  is  no  idea  of  treating  the  subject  exhaustively.  The 
age  of  the  students,  the  brevity  of  the  curriculum,  the  knowledge  and  experience  of 
the  teachers  would  prevent  this.  But  the  question  is  after  all  one  rather  of  mental 
and  moral  training,  and  mental  and  moral  attitude  than  mere  quantity  of  information, 
though  this  last  is  not  by  any  means  to  be  despised.  If  the  youth  goes  forth  from 
such  a  school  with  a  general  knowledge  of  the  origin  and  development  of  the  respec- 
tive branch  of  industry,  and  of  its  present  condition  and  usages  ;  of  its  relations  to 
other  parts  of  our  great  industrial  life  ;  with  a  conviction  of  its  fundamental  impor- 
tance ;  with  a  permanent  and  vital  interest  in  its  progress,  and  with  a  determination  to 
leave  no  stone  unturned,  not  merely  to  succeed  in  heaping  up  dollars,  but  to  improve 
business  itself,  who  can  deny  that  such  a  training  is  valuable  } 

There  is  another  point  of  view  from  which  this  question  may  be  considered.  \Ve 
are  oftentimes  too  apt  to  judge  of  the  value  of  an  educational  system  by  the  need  w'hich 
the  best  and  most  successful  men  may  have  felt,  and  to  overlook  the  vast  mass  of 
individuals  who  are  either  failures  or  very  moderate  successes.  Now  it  is  just  this 
latter  class  which  would  derive  immense  profit  from  a  systematic  training  for  business 
pursuits.  It  is  estimated  that  95  per  cent,  of  men  who  enter  business  life  in  this 
country  fail.  Many  of  these  fail  because  of  absolute  lack  of  business  ability;  many 
others  from  lack  of  capital  ;  still  others  from  accident  and  misfortune.  The  vast 
majority  of  them,  however,  come  just  short  of  success  because  they  lack  this  or  that 
quality  in  a  sufficient  degree  to  make  success  sure.  Now,  it  is  just  in  such  cases  that 
systematic  school  training  can  accomplish  great  results  and  make  all  the  difference 
between  that  moderate  success  to  which  the  individuals  would  be  entitled  by  their 
talents  and  industry,  and  the  miserable  failure  which,  under  existing  conditions,  nearly 
surely  awaits  them.  Great  successes  are  unfortunately  not  the  rule  in  modern  life ; 
but  that  a\erage  success  which  makes  up  the  great  majority  of  cases  systematic  school 
training  can  do  much  to  secure.  And  if  a  thorough-going  system  of  secondary  and 
higher  education  for  business  life  should  reach  only  five  per  cent,  of  the  present  cases 
of  failure  and  convert  them  into  successes,  it  would  pay  for  itself  over  and  over  again. 

If  I  have  succeeded  in  presenting  the  matter  in  the  proper  light,  I  am  sure  you 
will  agree  with  me  as  to  the  desirability  from  the  standpoint  of  the  business  man 
himself,  of  the  establishment  of  such  secondary  and  higher  courses  of  training  for 
business  life  as  I  here  describe. 


16 

Finally,  if  such  a  system  of  education  is  desirable  in  the  interest  of  the  school  sys- 
tem of  the  countr)-  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  business  world  on  the  other,  it  is  no 
less  desirable  in  the  interest  of  society  in  general. 

Nothing  is  more  remarkable  in  the  development  of  modern  social  life  than  the  ever- 
increasing  importance  of  the  business  classes  of  the  community.  Even  in  Europe 
where  the  nobility,  the  army,  the  civil  service,  the  learned  professions  still  occupy  the  lead- 
ing social  and  political  positions,  the  social  status  of  the  business  classes  is  continually 
changing  for  the  better ;  the  business  classes  themselves  are  acquiring  a  continually 
increasing  influence  in  politics  and  society.  In  our  own  country  where  business  was 
from  the  beginning  the  occupation  of  a  leading  portion  of  the  community,  the  business 
classes  were  never  beyond  the  pale  of  society  as  in  Europe;  but  even  here,  as  I  empha- 
sized in  my  fonner  address  before  your  body,  the  relative  position  of  business  men 
in  politics  and  society  is  rapidly  changing  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  classes  formerly 
looked  upon  as  social  and  political  leaders.  The  heroes  to  whom  our  children  look  up, 
whose  deeds  are  related  with  admiration,  are  to-day  the  great  captains  of  trade  and 
industr}-,  as  the  great  orators,  preachers  and  lawyers  were  of  a  former  period.  Whether 
for  weal  or  woe,  the  dominating  tone  of  American  society,  the  ideas  of  American 
youth,  are  set  to  an  ever-increasing  extent  by  the  great  railroad  manager,  the  insur- 
ance director,  the  banker,  the  merchant,  the  manufacturer.  It  has  not  been  so  very 
long  since  the  Postmaster-Generalship  of  the  United  States  was  offered  to  the  greatest 
retail  merchant  in  the  United  States ;  and  only  yesterday  we  have  seen  the  position  of 
Secretary  of  State,  the  most  honorable  position  within  the  gift  of  the  Chief  ^lagistrate 
of  the  Republic,  refused  by  a  great  railroad  president.  These  are  striking  and  sig- 
nificant facts.  They  illustrate  in  a  speaking  way  the  deep  interest  which  the  country, 
as  a  whole,  should  feel  in  the  intellectual  and  moral  state  of  the  business  classes  as 
such. 

What  should  be  the  characteristics  of  a  model  business  man?  I  need  not  stop 
to  speak  of  those  absolutely  fundamental  qualities  which  are  so  often  recommended 
to  us  in  prose  and  verse — such  as  sobriety,  industry,  perseverance,  honesty,  etc., 
qualities  which  are  generally  acknowledged  to    be  necessary  to  all  classes  of  men. 

I  would,  however,  especially  emphasize  initiative  enterprise,  broad  views  of  in- 
dustrial problems  and  possibilities ;  a  sense  of  the  nobility  of  business  and  the  pos- 
sibility of  usefulness  to  society  through  ordinary  business  channels ;  an  cspr/f  cite 
corps  which  feels  to  the  quick  any  base  or  stupid  action  of  a  fellow  business  man  as 
a  disgrace  to  the  calling — that  tine  sense  of  honor  which  should  characterize  every 
profession.  The  business  classes  of  a  community  should  follow  the  injunction  of 
the  Apostle,  and  magnify  their  calling  by  adorning  it  with  all  those  qualities  which 
call  forth  the  admiration  of  the  best  men. 

No  one  can  study  the  history  of  civilization  from  an  economic  standpoint  without 
becoming  convinced  that  scant  justice  has  been  done  in  our  literature  and  history 
to  the  fundamental  importance  of  trade  and  industry  to  the  progress  of  civiiizatiorv 
itself.  We  trace  the  history  of  politics  and  political  divisions,  of  wars  and  kings  and 
generals,  of  law  and  theology  and  medicine,  of  science  and  literature  and  art,  and  think 
we  have  a  fairly  complete  view  of  human  histoiy.  The  progress  of  mankind,  how- 
ever, is  nowhere  more  clearly  reflected  than  in  the  invention  and  perfection  of  money; 
or  in  the  establishment  and  development  of  banks ;  or  in  the  origin  and  growth  of 
insurance;  or  the  development  of  clearing  houses,  and  the  other  thousand  and  one 
devices  of  our  credit  and  monetary  system.  Let  us  recognize  clearly  that  an  imjirove- 
ment  in  business — a  new  device  or  a  new  application  of  an  old  one — is  of  as  much 
interest  to  humanity  as  a  discovery  in  medicine,  or  an  improvement  in  law,  a  new 
formulation  of  a  theological  creed  or  the  invention  of  a  new  motive  power. 

The  promissory  note  in  all  its  various  ramiflcations  is  perhaps  as  im])ortant  to  human 
welfare  as  the  microscope  itself,  while  the  invention  of  money  is  even  more  imi)ortant 
than  the  printing  press  or  the  steam  engine.  There  is  an  opportunity  in  the  dull  round 
of  business  not  merely  to  earn  a  living,  not  merely  to  provide  for  one's  family,  not 
merely  to  heap  up  wealth  which  may  be  used  to  found  a  hospital  or  a  college,  but  \.o 
confer  blessings  of  incalculable  benefit  upon  mankind  by  improving  the  processes 
of  business  itself.  No  thoughtful  man  can  look  around  him  in  any  branch  of 
business  without  seeing  numerous  points  at  which  it  may  be  improved,  and  the 
history  of  other  branches  of  human  life  show  how  much  individual  men  may 
accomplish  by   giving  their  thoughtful  attention    to  such   things.     Such   work  is  as 


17 

truly  scientific  in  character  and  philanthropic  in  its  results  as  the  search  for  the  cholera 
bacillus  and  its  remedy. 

Such  a  mode  of  viewing  business  would  not  only  tend  to  improve  the  character  of 
business  methods,  but  it  would  raise  the  whole  level  of  business  thought  and  feeling, 
increase  the  interest  of  business  men  in  their  work  and  react  beneficially  on  society  in 
general  in  countless  ways.  It  would  tend  to  beget  an  esprit  dii  corps,  which  would  do 
away  with  countless  abuses  of  our  business  life  growing  out  of  the  bitter  competition  of 
our  modern  economic  system. 

I  take  it  there  will  be  little  difference  of  opinion  upon  these  points.  My  experience 
as  a  teacher  leads  me  to  believe  that  much  may  be  done  by  a  systematic  school  train- 
ing to  develop  the  above  mentioned  qualities  in  the  future  business  man. 

The  aim  of  commercial  education,  such  as  I  am  pleading  for,  is  to  awaken  a  pro- 
found interest  in  business  as  such  ;  to  train  youth  to  an  appreciation  of  the  functions  of 
business  and  business  practice  in  our  modern  life ;  to  inform  him  as  to  the  history  of 
industrj-  and  trade ;  to  awaken  his  interest  in  its  future ;  to  train  him  to  keep  his  eyes 
open  as  to  business  possibilities ;  to  inspire  him  with  a  healthy  respect  for  business  in 
all  its  various  branches  ;  to  arouse  a  determination  to  become  not  only  a  successful 
business  man  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  but  a  useful  one  as  well ;  to  beget  a 
public  spirit ;  to  e.xcite  an  interest  in  the  higher  welfare  of  society ;  in  a  word,  to  be- 
come a  public-spirited,  intelligent,  well  educated  and  successful  man  of  affairs. 

Before  closing,  1  should  like  to  say  one  word  as  to  what  your  honorable  body  can 
do  in  the  direction  indicated  in  this  paper.  In  the  first  place,  you  can  keep  this  question 
of  the  higher  education  of  business  men  before  the  country  in  one  shape  or  another 
until  our  leading  colleges  and  universities  shall  see  their  way  clear  to  making  such 
courses  an  integral  part  of  their  work,  and  until  good  commercial  high  schools  are 
generally  incorporated  into  our  system  of  secondary  education  ;  when  you  will  have 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  you  have  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  one  of  the 
most  important  departments  of  secondary  and  higher  education. 

But  there  is  also  a  very  special  work  which  is  peculiarly  yours,  and  lies  within  the 
easy  reach  of  your  financial  means.  It  is  fair,  I  think,  to  look  to  the  bankers  of  the 
country  for  special  aid  in  the  financial  education  of  the  countr)'.  Bankers  are  often 
surprised  at  the  ignorant  attacks  upon  banks  by  newspapers  and  politicians.  These 
attacks  can  be  best  met  by  education  of  the  public  as  to  the  real  services  of  banks  and 
bankers  to  the  community.  Something  more  might  be  done  than  is  doing  at  present 
in  the  direction  of  enlightening  the  public  on  all  these  points. 

But  there  is  a  still  nearer  work  for  this  Association.  I  have  received  during  the 
last  few  years  many  letters  from  bank  employees  in  all  sections  of  the  country  asking 
for  advice  and  assistance  in  making  a  thorough  study  of  banking  and  financial  ques- 
tions. As  they  found  it  impossible  to  leave  their  positions,  they  wished  to  be  taught 
by  correspondence.  The  perfection  of  our  methods  of  instruction  now  allows  us  to 
accomplish  very  good  results  by  means  of  correspondence. 

It  seems  to  me  a  perfectly  feasible  thing  for  this  Association  to  undertake  to  pro- 
mote the  cause  of  financial  education  among  the  bank  employees  of  the  country  by 
authorizing  its  Committee  on  this  subject  to  conduct  such  courses  of  instruction  under 
its  auspices.  A  scheme  of  reading  and  study  could  be  worked  out,  examinations 
could  be  held  and  certificates  granted.  Small  fees  might  be  charged  each  student, 
which  would  assist  in  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  instruction  ;  and  the  deficit,  if 
there  should  be  one,  could  be  met  by  this  Association.  In  this  way  for  a  small  annual 
sum  your  Association  might  set  to  work  and  keep  going  an  educational  instrumentality 
whose  influence  would  be  felt  in  every  part  of  this  great  country. 

In  closing,  let  me  again  thank  your  Association  for  the  interest  shown  by  you  in 
this  great  and  important  subject ;  and  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the  honor  you 
have  done  me  in  inviting  me  to  address  you  on  this  occasion,  and  finally,  above  all  let 
me  bespeak  your  continued  interest  in  this  great  cause  in  whose  behalf  I  have  thus 
twice  appeared  before  you. 


[9233D] 


EDUCATION  OF  BUSINESS  MEN.— IV. 


Education  of  Business  Men  in  Europe. 


A  REPORT  TO  THE 

American  Bankers'  Association 

THROUGH   ITS 

Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance   and  Economy. 


BY 


EDMUND  J.  JAMES,  Ph.  D., 

Professor  in  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy, 

University  of  Pennsylvania. 


1893. 
PUBLISHED  BY 

AMERICAN  Bankers'  association, 

NEW  YORK. 


COMMITTEE 

On  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy 

OF 

EXECUTIVE  COUNCIL, 

American  Bankers'  Association, 


William  IT.  Rhawn,   Chairrnan, 
President  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  Philadelphia. 

George  S.  Coe, 
President  American  Exchange  National  Bank,  New  York. 

Lyman  J.  Gage, 
President  First  National  Bank,  Chicago. 

Morton  McMichaki., 
Cashier  P"irst  National  Bank,  Philadelphia. 

George  A.  Butler, 
President  National  Tradesmen's  Bank,  New  llaven. 


EXECUTIVE   COUNCIL, 
AMERICAN  bankers'  ASSOCIATION. 

COMMITTEE  ON  SCHOOLS  OF  FINANCE  AND  ECONOMY. 

Philadelphia,  September  i,  1893. 
A  T  the  convention  of  the  association  held  in  San  Francisco  in  September 
■**■  last.  Professor  James  embodied  in  an  address  a  partial  report  of  the 
result  of  his  investigations  of  European  institutions  for  the  education  of 
business  men,  made  in  behalf  of  this  association,  which  address  was 
published  in  the  Proceedings  of  1892,  and  separately  as  "Education  of 
Business  Men — III."  in  which  it  was  announced  that  a  more  extensive 
report  was  in  preparation  by  Professor  James,  to  be  published  under  the 
title  of  "Education  of  Business  Men  in  Europe,"  and  which  is  here 
presented  as  the  fourth  in  the  series  of  pamphlets  issued  by  the  associa- 
tion upon  the  Education  of  Business  Men. 

In  his  report  Professor  James  presents  an  account  of  what  is  being 
done  in  Europe  in  the  way  of  providing  for  the  special  education  of  the 
business  classes.  It  shows  that  there  is  a  European  experience  which  is 
well  worth  the  study  of  our  American  educationists.  The  history  of  this 
experience  also  demonstrates  conclusively  that  the  initiative  in  such 
education  must  come  from  the  business  classes  themselves.  No  countr)- 
in  the  world  needs  such  education  more  than  the  United  States. 

It  should  certainly  be  a  privilege,  as  it  is  a  duty,  for  the  members  of 
our  association  to  consider  the  subject  and  ascertain  by  actual  inquiry  what 
is  being  done  in  their  own  localities  in  this  department  of  education,  and 
having  discovered  the  facts,  to  set  about  securing  the  establishment  of 
opportunities  for  more  thorough  business  education  where  such  opportuni- 
ties do  not  exist  and  the  improvement  of  such  opportunities  where  they 
have  already  been  leveloped.  It  is  to  this  end  that  the  efforts  of  the 
association  have  been  directed,  and  it  is  evident,  from  the  interest  awakened 
upon  the  subject,  that  these  efforts  have  not  been  altogether  in  vain.  It 
is  especially  commended  to  the  consideration  of  the  State  Bankers'  Associa- 
tions, some  of  whom,  it  is  encouraging  to  notice,  have  alread}'  begun  to 
move  in  the  matter. 

William  H.  Rhawn, 

Chainnati. 


(iii) 


CONTENTS. 


PART  i. 

PAGB 

Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy    .       ii 

Preface  by  Wm.  H.  Rhawn,  Chairman  of  the  Committee iii 

Pictures  of  Buildings ix-xiv 

Origin  of  the  Report — KfTorts  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association  to  Arouse 
an  Interest  in  the  Higher  Education  of  Business  Men — Examination  of 
the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and   Economy — Addresses   before   the 

A sssociation  by  Professor  Edmund  J.  James xy 

Invitation  to  Professor  James  to  Report  Upon  Commercial  Education  in 
Europe — Object  of  this  Report — Conclusion  as  to  Desirability  of  Commer- 
cial High  Schools  and  Schools  of  Finance  and   Economy  in  the  United 

States — Method  of  Organizing  Commercial  High  Schools xvi 

Advantages  of  Such  Schools — Need  of  Such  Schools — Breakdown  of  Old 
Ajiprenticeship  System — Need  of  Professional  Education — Growing  Re- 
sponse to  Educational  Effort  Along  This  Line — Relation  of  Commercial 

to  Liberal  Education xvii 

True  Aim  of  Educationalists  in   Regard  to  Commercial   Education — Advan- 
tage of  Such  a  Scliool  to  the  Youth  of  Fortune  and  to  the  Poor  Youth    .         xviii 
What   May  be  Expected  of  Such  Schools — Character  of  European   Schools 
Discussed  in  this  Report — Higher  Commercial  Education  in  Europe — 

Commercial  Courses  in  Real  Schools xix 

Relation  of  Military    Laws   in    France   and   Germany   and   Austria   to   tlie 

Curricula  of  Commercial  Schools xix 

l*'ree  School  of  Political  Science  at  Paris xx 

Commercial  Schools  in  other  F^uropean  countries xx 

Commercial  Education  in  England  ..." xxi 

What  the  Bankers'  Association  can  do  to  Promote  Sound  F^inancial  Education, 
wSpecial  Reason  for   Favoring  Commercial    Education  in  the  United  States 
at  Present — Relation  of  Commercial  High  Schools  to  General  System  of 
Public  Education xxi 

PART  II. 

A. 

HIGHER   COMMERCIAL   INSTRUCTION    IN   AUSTRIA. 
Introduction.       Realhandlungsakademie   in  Vienna.      Commercial    Courses 

in  Technical  Schools.     Date  of  Establishment  of  Commercial  Academies,  1-2 

I 

The  Cotnmercial  Academy  in  Vienna. 

Origin.     History  of  Foundation.     Opening.     Established   by  a   Private 

Coq)oration  Organized  for  the  Purpose.     Method  of  Government   .  3-4 

Curriculum  in    1871-72.     Preparatory  Classes.     Academy.     Reorganiza- 
tion  in    1872.    Curriculum  of  Academy  in   1876.  Commercial  High  5-7 
School    

Curriculum  of  Commercial  High  School.     Reorganization  in  1877    .    .    .  S-9 

Academy  with   a   Three-Year  Course.       Requirements   for  Admission. 

Tuition.     General  View  of  Subjects  of  Instruction lo-ir 

One-Year  Course  for  Graduates  of  Gymnasia  and  Real  Schools.    Curricu- 
lum of  Same 12 

(V) 


VI 

PAGE 

Sj-nopsis  of  Curriculum  of  the  One  and  Three- Year  Courses  in  the 

Acadetti)' 13-25 

Preparatorj-  Class.     Curriculum.     S3'nopsis  of  Subjects 26 

Collections.  Coins.  Laboratories.  Physical  Cabinet.  Geographical 
Cabinet.  Collection  to  Illustrate  History  of  Art.  Library.  Travel- 
ing Scholarship  Fund 27-29 

Attendance     at     Academj-.        Subsequent     Employment    of    Students 

Scholarships.     Other  Means  of  Assistance 30 

Financial  Support  of  the  Academy.  Current  Expenses.  Budget. 
Buildings.  Detailed  Statistics  as  to  Students  of  Late  Years.  Aid 
Granted  to  Students 31-32 

Faculty 33 

2 

Commercial  Academy  of  Prague. 

Foundation  of  the  Institution.  Need  of  Commercial  Education.  Inade- 
quacy of  Gymnasium  and  Real  School  to  Supply  this  Want 
First  Steps  in  Prague.     Address  to  the  Public 34-35 

Opening  of  the  Sunday  School.  Opening  of  the  Academy.  Proposed 
Curriculum.  Inaugural  Address  of  Director  Arentz.  Purpose, 
Function  and  Need  of  Commercial  Schools.  Influence  of  the 
Establishment  of  the  Academy  at  Prague 36-41 

History  of  the  School  from  1S56  to  1872.  Method  of  Instruction. 
Classes  of  Pupils.  Administration  of  the  Institution.  Course  in 
Railroading,  etc.,  1872 42-44 

Present  Purpose  and  Organization  of  the  Academy.  Curriculum  of  the 
Three- Year  Course.  Distribution  of  Hours  and  Subjects.  Recent 
Statistics  of  Attendance 45-48 

The  One-Year  Course.  Curriculum.  Admission.  Statistics  of  Attend- 
ance. Budget  of  the  Academy.  Total  Attendance  from  1856  to 
1885-S6  

Faculty     49-5° 

Salaries  and  Pensions.     General  Remarks  on  Commercial  Education  in 

Austria 5i'5Z 

B. 

HIGHER   COMMERCIAL  INSTRUCTION    IN    FRANCE. 

The  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Paris. 

Historj'  of  its  Foundation  and  Development.  Foiniders.  Early  Experi- 
ences.   Blanqui's  Administration.    Gervais  de  Caen.    Aimd  Girard    .        53-56 

Sale  of  the  School  to  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce.     Schwaeble.     M. 

G.  Grelley.     Statistics  of  Attendance  1S72  to  1885 .        57-59 

Scholarships.  Requirements  for  Admission  to  Competition  for  Scholar- 
ships.    Resident  and  Day  Pupils 60-61 

Outline  of  In.struction.  First  Class.  Second  Class.  Third  Class — Dis- 
tribution of  Hours  and  vSubjects    61-64 

Excursions.     Examinations.     Diplomas.     Discipline   ...    • 65-6S 

Administration.       Receipts    and    Expenses.      General    Considerations. 

Alumni  Association.     Publications  of  the  Same 69-74 

2. 

School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies  at  Paris. 

First  Idea  of  the  Establishment  of  Such  a  School — Preliminary  Discus- 
sions— Reports  of  the  Oriental  Athenaium— Of  the  National  Society 
of  Education 75-77 

Opening  of  the  School — Purpose  of  the  School — Situation  of  the  School 
— .Vttciidance — Scholarships — Organization  of  the  School — Board 
and  Tuition 78-81 

Instruction — Program  of  Study — Preparatory  School — Normal  Course. 
Di.stribution  of  Hours  and  Subjects— Examinations  (general  and 
special) — Classification  of  Pupils 82-S6 


Vll 

PAGE 

Diplomas — Certificates — Rudoret — Methods  of  l-'inaucial  Support — Gen- 
eral Observations — Alinimi  Association S7-91 

Official  Program  and  Synopsis  of  Studies — Preparatory  School  .    .        91-98 

Program  of  the  Regular  Courses — System  of  Marks      99-124 

Discussion  am^  Comparison  of  the  Prench  Schools — Method  of  Organi- 
zation— Relative  Advantages — Councils — Scholarships — Subsidies — 
Traveling  Scholarships  :  Conditions  on  which  they  are  granted     .    .     124-128 

Appeal  to  Business  Men  to  Establish  Scholarships — Length  of  the  Cur- 
riculum— Age  of  Admission — Status  of  Bachelors — Growth  in  Attend- 
ance— Foreign  Pupils — Relative  Numbers  of  Resident  and  Day 
Pupils — Diplomas — Faculties — Comparison  of  the  Budgets 129-135 

Comparison  of  the  Curricula  of  the  Higher  Schools — Common  Studies. 
Spirit  of  the  Instruction — General  Systems — Relative  Value  of 
Theoretical  and  Practical  Instruction. — Various  Questions  in  Regard 
to  this  Subject 135-159 

Examination  of  the  Different  Parts  of  the  Curricula  :  Accounting  ;  Com- 
mercial and  Industrial  Economy — Private  Economy — Arithmetic, 
Algebra,  and  Geometry — Penmanship — Stenography — Industrial  and 
Commercial  Geography — Study  of  Railroads,  Tariffs  and  Commer- 
cial Equipment — Commercial  and  Industrial  Technology^Raw  and 
Manufactured  Products — the  Art  of  Buying  and  Selling — Marine 
Equipment — F'rench  Language — Foreign  Languages — Elocution — 
Commercial  Law — Physical  and  Natural  Sciences — Mechanics — 
Drawing — Histor}-  of  Commerce — -Political  F^conomy — Morals — 
Music  and  Gymnastics-*-Commercial  and  Industrial  Visits — Conclud- 
ing Remarks    .    .    .- 140-155 


HIGHER   COMMERCIAL   INSTRUCTION    IN    GERMANY. 

Public  CoDimercial  Institute  at  Leipsic. 

General  Remarks  on  Commercial  Instruction  in  Germany. — Foinidation 
and  Origin  of  the  Public  Commercial  Institute  at  Leipsic. — Account 
of  Schiebe,  the  F'irst  Director. — Succeeding  Directors.— Divisions  of 
the  Institute — Apprentice  Department — Higher  Department — Pro- 
fessional Course — Account  of  Each  of  these  Divisions .  156-167 

Curriculum  and  Methods — Theoretical  versus  Practical  Instruction  in 
Germany — Changes  in  the  Cxirricidum — Budget  of  the  Commercial 
Institute 164-163 

D. 

HIGHER   COMMERCIAL   INSTRUCTION    IN   BELGIUM. 

Superior  Institute  of  Commerce  at  Antwerp. 

Foundation  of  the  Institute  and  its  Subsefjuent  Development — General 
View  of  the  Attendance  at  the  Institute — Nationalitv  of  the  Pupils 
Attending — Subsidies — Scholarships — Government  of  the  Institute — 
General  and  Special  Matriculation — ICntrance  Examination — Vaca- 
tions            16S-170 

Programs  :  of  the  Preparatory  School— of  the  First  Year — of  the  Second 
Year — Weeklv  Distribution  of  the   Time— Discussion  of  the  Curricu- 


lum. 


171-175 


Examinations — Relative  Importance  of  Each  Subject — Diplomas — 
Traveling  Scholarships.— Discipline. — Government  of  the  Institute 
— Council  of  Improvement — Of  Inspection — Budget— Personnel — 
General  Considerations 176-181 

Alumni  Association. — F'oundation  of  the  Association. — Program  of 
Strauss — Work  of  the  Association.  Methods  of  Government — Social 
and  Economic  Reports 182-186 


Vlll 


PAGE 

E. 


HIGHER   COMMERCIAL  INSTRUCTION    IN    ITALY. 

Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Venice. 

Origin  and  Development  —  Divisions  of  the  School  —  Attendance — 
Subsidies  —  Scholarships — Program — Examinations — Government — 
General  Considerations 187-191 

General  Remarks  on  Commercial  Education  in  Italy — Florence — Turin — 

Genoa '92-193 

F. 

HIGHER   COMMERCIAL  INSTRUCTION   IN   ENGLAND. 

Backwardness  of  England  in  this  Line. — Ideas  of  Sir  Philip  Magnus. — 
Commercial  Certificates. — London  Chamber  of  Commerce. — Oxford 
and  Cambridge 194-200 

Sample  Papers  set  in  Oxford  Examinations 201-206 

Notes  on  Commercial  Education  in  England — Liverpool  Institute — A.  T. 
Pollard — W.  G.  Blackie — Evidence  of  Reports  on  Education  as  to 
Displacement  of  English  Youth  by  Foreigners — Recommendations 
of  Blackie ■ 207-212 

Report  of  J.  J.  Findlay  to  Sheffield  Chamber  of    Commerce — Letter  of 

Dr.  Carl  Wolfrum 213-219 

•Ijst  of  authorities  consulted 220-223 


Palace  Foscari.    Occupied  by  the  Royal  Commercial  School  at  Venice. 


I 


Gateway  to  School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies  at  Paris. 


o 


I 


COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION  IN  EUROPE. 


PART  1. 

T^HE  AMERICAN  BANKERS'  ASSOCIATION  has  led  the  way  in 
1  one  of  the  most  important  educational  departures  of  this  century.  It 
is  nothing  less  than  a  systematic  effort  to  arouse  public  attention  to 
the  importance  of  providing  for  a  more  extensive  and  more  thorough  pro- 
fessional education  of  our  business  classes. 

As  the  first  step  in  this  work,  the  association  appointed  a  committee 
to  investigate  what  was  being  done,  in  a  systematic  way  in  the  United 
States,  toward  providing  for  this  great  public  need  of  a  special  education 
for  mercantile  and  business  life.  With  a  full  recognition  of  the  admirable 
work  which  many  of  our  so  called  "  commercial  colleges  "  are  doing,  and 
with  the  completest  acknowledgment  that  their  founders  and  promoters 
were  the  first  to  see  the  need  of  special  conmiercial  education  and  were 
doing  valuable  work  in  supplying  it  so  far  as  they  could,  the  committee 
felt  that  there  was  a  field  of  education  which  these  institutions  were  not  at 
all  cultivating,  and  yet  which  needed  special  attention.  In  canvassing 
the  educational  institutions  of  the  country,  it  soon  appeared  that  the 
Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  of  the  University  of  Penn.syl- 
vania  was  the  only  institution  of  higher  rank  which  was  busying  itself 
seriously  with  this  educational  problem.  The  committee,  therefore, 
requested  the  author  of  this  report  to  give  the  association  an  account  of 
the  work,  aims  and  methods  of  the  Wharton  School.  In  an  address 
delivered  before  that  body  at  Saratoga,  in  vSeptember,  1890,*  the  general 
situation  of  business  education  was  discussed  and  an  exposition  of  the 
work  of  the  Wharton  School  was  given.  So  well  pleased  was  the  associa- 
tion with  the  plan  there  outlined  and  the  report  of  the  work  already 
accomplished,  that  it  adopted  resolutions  reconnnending  to  the  colleges 
and  universities  in  the  United  States  the  establishment  of  similar  depart- 
ments as  constituent  parts  of  their  organization. 

This  action  attracted  much  attention  and  the  scheme  received  the 
approval  of  leading  college  and  university  authorities,  as  well  as  busine.ss 
men.f 

Pursuing  the  same  line  of  work,  the  association  resoWed  to  inve.sti- 
gate  what  was  being  done  in  the  field  of  secondary  education,  correspondin,:.:: 
to  the  work  of  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  in  higher 
education.  As  it  was  generally  known  that  the  various  countries  of 
Western  Europe  had  done  nuich  work  along  this  line,  the  author  of  tht- 
present  report  was  invited  to  visit  the  leading  centres  of  European  educa- 
tion, and  examine  their  institutions  for  counnercial  education  and  report 

*  Education  of  Business  Men.     An  address  before  the  American  Bankers'  Association  at  Saratoga, 
September  ?,.  1890. 

tSee  Education  of  Business  Men,  I.  and  II.   American  Bankers'  Association,  New  York.  iSj2. 

(XV) 


XVI 

upon  this  subject.  In  pursuance  of  this  invitation,  he  visited  England, 
France,  Ital)-,  Switzerland,  Austria,  Germany  and  Belgium,  and  the 
following  report  incorporates  some  of  the  results  of  his  observation  and 
study  of  this  topic.  The  essence  of  the  report  has  already  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  association,  at  its  last  meeting,  in  an  address  delivered  in 
San  Francisco,  September  7,  1892.'^ 

The  object  in  preparing  the  various  detailed  reports  which  constitute 
this  work  was  to  put  the  available  information  relating  to  these  schools, 
their  histor}',  origin,  development,  curricula,  etc. ,  into  such  a  form  that 
any  member  of  this  association,  or  of  any  similar  bod}-,  any  teacher  in 
the  United  States,  any  superintendent  of  schools,  anj'-  school  board  or  any 
other  body  or  individual  who  might  become  interested  in  this  subject  and 
who  might  wish  to  take  the  initiative  in  organizing  such  schools  among 
us,  would  find  the  assistance  he  needs  in  taking  the  first  steps  toward 
such  an  end. 

The  object  of  this  report,  then,  has  not  been  to  present  a  complete 
account  of  the  system  of  commercial  education  in  Europe,  nor  complete 
statistical  tables  as  to  number  of  schools,  pupils,  teachers,  etc.  ;  but  rather 
to  select  a  few  typical  institutions  and  describe  them  so  fully  that  any  one 
who  chose  to  do  so  b}^  making  allowance  for  the  difference  in  conditions, 
could  reproduce  their  counterparts  here. 

The  special  accounts  contain  many  references  to  the  burning  questions 
of  educational  policy  which  will  prove  of  interest  to  the  educational 
specialist. 

It  is  ni}'  opinion  that  the  educational  system  of  the  United  States 
would  be  enormously  improved  by  the  introduction  of  such  schools  as  are 
described  in  this  report  into  our  scheme  of  public  instruction,  and  if  the 
American  Bankers'  Association  shall  have  contributed,  even  to  a  small 
extent,  to  this  great  result,  it  will  have  deserved  the  thanks  of  every 
American  citizen. 

I  have  set  forth  in  the  two  addresses  delivered  before  the  association, 
in  considerable  detail,  the  reasons  for  believing  that  a  system  of  in.stitu- 
tions  of  secondary  and  higher  rank,  should  be  organized  with  a  special 
view  of  offering  facilities  for  a  professional  education  along  business  and 
commercial  lines.  The  schools  of  secondary  rank  would  be  Conniiercial 
High  Schools,  running  parallel  with  our  present  Literary  High  Schools 
on  the  one  hand,  and  Manual  Training  High  Schools  on  the  other.  The 
schools  of  higher  rank  should  be  of  college  and  university  grade,  and 
should  ijc  organized  in  connection  with  our  existing  colleges  and  universi- 
ties. 

The  Commercial  High  Schools  could  be  established  by  private  parties, 
either  individuals  or  corporations,  much  as  our  academies  and  seminaries 
are  organized  and  managed  now.  Some  of  the  most  successful  of  these 
schools  have  l)een  thus  established  in  Europe,  notably  in  Paris,  Vienna 
and  Turin.  Or  they  might  be  established  l)y  boards  of  trade,  chambers 
of  connnerce,  trades  leagues,  or  other  similar  bodies.  This  also  has 
been  a  familiar  form  of  organization  and  support  in  luiropc.  Indeed,  it 
may  be  said  that  some  of  the  most  successful  of  tlie  European  schools 
have  been  managed  on  tliis  plan  :  The  School  of  Higher  Commercial 
Studies  at  Paris  ;  the  Academy  at  Prague  ;  and  the  Institute  at  Leipsic. 

*  Kdiication  of  Business  Men.  III.    A  plea  for  the  establishment  of  Commercial  High  Schools. 
Americriii  ll.'.iikers'  Association,  New  York,  1893.    pp.  17. 


XVll 

Or  they  might  be  established  by  the  community  as  integral  parts  of 
the  pul^lic  school  system.  A  start  has  been  made  along  this  line  at  Pitts- 
burg, Cincinnati  and  San  Francisco,  in  this  country  ;  but  these  schools 
have  not  been  developed  as  they  ought  to  be.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  in 
the  long  run  we  shall  have  to  rely  upon  this  third  form  to  accomplish  the 
most  general  and  widespread  results  but  there  is  also  just  as  little  doubt 
that  more  rapid  progress  might  be  made  if  .some  private  individual  or  cor- 
poration would  take  up  the  matter  and  give  us  a  commercial  high  school 
which  could  serve  as  a  model  for  our  city  boards.  For  the  history  of 
education  in  this  country  shows  conclusively  that  the  .spirit' of  routine  and 
formalism  which  nearly  invariabh'  prevails  in  any  public  school  system 
is  unfavorable  to  rapid  and  thoroughgoing  improvement  ;  inasmuch  as  it 
is  unfavorable  to  experimentation,  and  experimentation  is  necessarj'  to 
progress. 

The  s}'Stematic  and  steady  development  of  commercial  in.struction 
lies  in  the  interest  of  our  business  world  ;  in  the  interest  of  the  communit}' 
in  general ;  and  in  the  interest  of  our  public  system  of  education.  There 
is,  at  present,  little  opportunit}-  for  a  youth  desiring  to  enter  business  life 
to  get  any  systematic  assistance  in  preparing  himself  for  his  future  career, 
if  he  desires  or  expects  to  engage  in  anything  but  clerical  work.  The  old 
system  of  training  young  men  in  the  great  business  houses  has  almost 
completeh'  disappeared  even  in  those  places  in  our  country'  where  it  maj' 
have  existed ;  while  it  can  hardly  be  said  ever  to  have  existed  at  all  in  most 
places  in  this  country.  Even  in  the  old  countries — England,  France  and 
German}- — it  has  broken  down — like  the  apprenticeship  sj'stem  in  the 
trades — and  at  present  the  only  possible  substitute  for  it  seems  to  be  the 
properly  organized  commercial  school. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  best  preparation  is  a  good  general  education 
of  the  literary  high  school  and  college.  This  has  alwaj-s  been  the 
answer  to  ever}'  proposition  to  organize  professional  or  technical  educa- 
tion. It  is  essentially  the  mediaeval  idea  of  education,  and  it  dies  only 
very  slowly  and  very  hard  in  the  face  of  modern  progress.  The  best 
practical  answer  to  it  is  the  fact  that  practical  men  as  a  cla.ss  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  Opportunities  for  such  education  have  been  open 
to  the  business  classes  for  three  centuries  and  they  have  availed  themselves 
of  them  only  to  a  ver}-  limited  extent  either  in  Europe  or  America  ; 
while  whenever  a  special  education  of  high  rank  has  been  open  to  them 
they  have  .shown  their  appreciation  of  it  by  patronizing  the  institutions 
which  offered  it. 

The  fact  seems  to  be  that  in  every  line  of  educational  life,  the  number 
of  people  who  will  take  a  very  extensive  course  of  study  of  a  purely 
liberal  character  is  very  small  indeed  ;  while  the  number  of  those  who 
will  take  an  extensive  special  or  professional  education  is  large  and  con- 
tiiuially  growing.  Indeed,  if  you  were  to  cut  out  of  our  present  so-called 
liberal  courses,  those  persons  to  whom  the  study  of  Latin,  Greek,  His- 
tory, Mathematics,  Science,  etc.,  is  not  only  a  liberal  but  also  a  technical 
pursuit  in  the  .sense  of  preparing  them  directly  for  their  future  work,  viz.: 
teachers,  preachers,  lawyers,  physicians,  the  number  left  in  the.se  courses 
would  be  astonishingly  .small. 

We  can  conquer  the  uneducated  and  half  educated  people  of  this 
country  for  secondary  and  higher  education  only  by  offering  them  courses 
of  study  which,  while  they  are  of  a  .strictly  educational  character  in  the 


XVlll 

best  sense  of  the  word,  shall  also  have  some  bearing  on  their  future  every- 
day life,  shall  have  some  direct  relation  to  the  work  they  are  called  upon 
to  do  in  the  world. 

The  first  aim  of  an  educational  system  should  undoubtedly  be  to 
offer  general  or  liberal  courses  of  all  grades,  and  of  the  very  best  possible 
character,  and  get  as  many  people  to  pursue  these  courses  as  possible,  no 
matter  what  their  future  careers.  It  should,  then,  go  further  and  offer  to 
those  youth  who  have  gone  as  far  as  they  will  in  these  liberal  courses  an 
opportunity  to  pursue  their  education  still  further  along  lines  relating  to 
to  their  future  calling — an  education  which,  if  it  is  based  on  science 
and  be  properly  organized,  cannot  but  be  liberalizing,  no  matter  if  it  be 
technical  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term.  Nobody  can  doubt  that  the 
training  of  a  properly  organized  and  managed  law  school  is  not  merely 
technical  or  professional  in  nature  but  also  highly  liberalizing — particu- 
larly as  compared  with  the  training  of  an  ordinary  law  office.  Nor  will 
any  one  deny  that  the  work  of  a  good  manual  training  or  trade  high 
school  may  be  made  educational  in  a  very  high  sense.  In  the  same  way 
the  curriculum  of  a  commercial  high  school  ma}^  be  eminently  liberalizing 
in  all  its  tendencies,  at  the  same  time  that  it  trains  a  3'outh  so  that  he 
ma}'  be  more  useful  in  a  business  house. 

Such  a  high  school  may  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  youth  whose 
father  is  able  to  set  him  up  in  business,  or  by  his  business  connections 
may  be  able  to  start  him  far  up  the  hill  that  leads  to  business  success  ;  for 
it  will  be  able  to  impart  to  him  much  information  which  he  would  other- 
wise obtain  in  a  scrappy-  way  and  often  not  at  all  until  the  opportunity  to 
use  it  had  passed  him  by,  and  at  any  rate  it  would  prepare  him  to  acquire 
quickly  the  details  of  his  business  and  help  him  to  co-ordinate  his  knowl- 
edge so  as  to  make  it  of  the  greatest  use  to  him.  It  would,  moreover, 
quicken  his  interest  in  all  that  relates  to  business,  and  help  make  his 
business  life  a  source  of  pleasure  as  well  as  profit  to  him. 

If  such  a  training  would  help  the  youth  of  fortune  and  good  business 
connections,  it  would  be  of  immensely  greater  aid  to  the  youth  who  must 
start  at  the  bottom  and  has  only  himself  and  his  own  efforts  to  rely  upon. 
It  would  enable  him  to  acquire,  in  a  much  shorter  time,  the  details  of  any 
l:)usiness  he  chooses  to  take  up  ;  it  would  open  his  e5'es  to  business 
chances  ;  give  him  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  business  world  and  help 
put  him  in  a  position  to  profit  by  whatever  juncture  turned  up. 

It  is  said  that  ninety-five  per  cent  of  tho.se  who  enter  busine.ss  fail  at 
some  time  in  their  career,  and  certainly  any  busine.ss  man  will  confirm 
the  statement  that  there  are  far  more  failures  than  successes  in  the  busi- 
ness world.  These  failures  come,  of  course,  from  many  circumstances  ; 
but  there  is  little  doubt  that  many  of  them  spring  from  cau.ses  which  the 
proper  .sort  of  preliminary  training  may  remove  ;  and  if  sound  business 
education  would  .scr\c  to  turn  only  ten  per  cent  of  these  failures  into  suc- 
cesses, it  would  ])ay  for  itself  many  times  over. 

Of  course,  no  conunercial  high  .school  and  no  .school  of  finance  and 
economy  can  make  ;i  successful  merchant  or  banker.  Nor  docs  a  law 
school  make  a  .successful  lawyer  or  a  medical  .school  a  .successful  physician  ; 
but  all  three  may  .so  train  a  man  that  he  will  enter  upon  his  respective 
career  at  an  advantage  over  the  man  who  does  not  have  this  training. 
])rovided  other  things  are  equal.  A  good  commercial  training  will  pre- 
pare a  boy  U)  learn  his  business  more  ea.sily  and  rapidly  tlian  he  could 
have  done  without  it. 


XIX 

But  such  a  commercial  training  must  be  really  educational  in 
character.  What  this  means,  in  the  domain  of  secondary  education,  can 
be  seen  if  one  will  take  the  six  months'  course  of  the  average  so-called 
commercial  college  in  the  United  vStates,  and  compare  it  with  the  three 
years'  course  of  the  schools  discussed  in  the  second  part  of  this  volume — 
say  of  that  in  Vienna  or  Prague  or  Leipsic  or  Antwerp  or  of  the  tsvo  in 
Paris.  It  is  work  of  this  latter  character  which  is  at  once  practical  and 
liberal ;  which  educates  for  life  while  it  trains  for  a  livelihood,  and  which 
should  be  introduced  into  our  scheme  of  public  education. 

It  will  be  noted  that  all  the  schools  here  discussed  are  really  of  high 
school  grade,  covering  the  years  from  fourteen  or  fifteen  to  seventeen  or 
eighteen.  The  onlj^  exception  is  to  be  found  in  such  courses  as  the  one- 
year  course  for  graduates  of  gymnasia  or  Ijcees  like  the  one  in  Vienna 
and  the  School  at  Venice,  which  may  fairly  lay  claim  to  be  considered  of 
college  or  university  grade.  These  courses  represent  really  the  only 
attempt  to  provide  for  higher  commercial  courses  at  all  and  which,  there- 
fore, could  come  into  comparison  with  the  work  which  would  properly 
fall  within  the  scope  of  schools  of  finance  and  economy. 

The  real  reason  for  this  is  to  be  found,  in  my  opinion,  in  the  general 
low  social  estimate  set  on  the  business  classes  in  Europe  which  are 
relegated  to  a  distinctly  lower  position  in  the  social  scale  than  the  nobility, 
the  army,  and  the  professional  classes.  Shopkeepers  and  artisans  are 
classed  together,  and  for  neither  class  is  really  higher  education  necessary 
at  all.  Of  course,  this  state  of  things  cannot  continue  indefinitely  and 
there  are  many  signs  of  its  approaching  change,  and  before  long  we  may 
confidently  expect  to  see  courses  in  commerce  in  the  higher  schools  of 
Europe,  which  will  compare  favorably  with  those  suitable  to  schools  of 
finance  and  economy  as  discussed  in  this  work. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  develop  courses  in  business  in  connec- 
tion with  the  other  courses  in  the  German  polytechnic  schools  ;  but  as 
will  be  seen  in  the  second  part  of  this  volume,  they  have  all  been  so 
inadequately  organized  that  they  have  failed  of  their  purpose  and  are  of 
value  to  us  only  as  solemn  examples  to  be  avoided. 

One  interesting  thing  to  note  is  the  recent  remarkable  increase  in 
attendance  at  French  commercial  schools.  Up  to  1890,  the  certificate  of 
these  schools  was  not  accepted  by  the  War  Department  as  entitling  the 
holders  to  the  privileges  of  the  one-year  ser\dce  law,  and  so  boys,  who 
attended  them  were  compelled  to  pass  at  lea.st  a  year  or  two  more  in  other 
schoolsfor  the  mere  purpose  of  passing  the  militar>'  examination,  or  else  they 
were  obliged  to  serve  the  full  period  in  the  army.  This  constituted  a 
serious  handicap  for  this  class  of  instruction  and  accounts  largely  for  the 
slow  growth  in  attendance  for  many  years.  As  soon  as  the  certificate  of 
these  schools  was  put  on  a  par  with  that  of  other  educational  institutions 
of  similar  grade,  the  attendance  went  up  by  leaps  and  bounds,  showing 
that  it  was  this  artificial  barrier  which  kept  them  back. 

The  circumstance  mentioned  above  sen-es  to  show  the  necessity  of 
considering  all  the  facts  relating  to  a  school  system  before  drawing  con- 
crete conclusions  or  comparisons.  It  will  be  .seen,  for  example,  that  the 
higher  commercial  schools  in  German}-  give  more  time  to  certain  subjects 
than  the  corresponding  schools  in  France  or  Austria.  This  does  not  come, 
as  one  might  suppose,  from  a  difference  in  the  ideas  of  the  Genuan 
directors  of  conmiercial  schools  ;  but  simply  from  the  fact  that  the  War 


XX 

Department  refused  to  receive  the  certificates  of  these  schools  as  entithng 
to  the  privileges  of  the  one-j^ear  voluntary  service,  until  its  prescrip- 
tions as  to  certain  fundamental  subjects  were  complied  with.  The  whole 
matter  illustrates  the  far  reaching  influence  of  the  military  system  in 
Europe  over  everj^  department  of  life,  when  even  the  schools  which  fit  for 
what  is  pre-eminently  a  peaceful  vocation  must  adapt  their  curricula  to  the 
demands  of  the  war  office. 

The  work  of  the  Free  School  of  Political  Science,  in  Paris,  is  not 
noticed  in  this  report,  because  its  aim  is  quite  different  from  that  of  the 
other  institutions  discussed.  It  is  a  most  admirable  school  and  is  well 
worth  the  study  of  educationists.  Its  work  corresponds  at  certain  points 
with  a  portion  of  the  work  done  in  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and 
Economy  ;  but  as  a  purely  private  institution  it  stands  out  of  relation  to 
the  general  system  of  public  education  in  France,  having  in  an  official 
way  no  connection  either  with  the  secondar}^  system  on  one  hand,  nor 
with  what  corresponds  to  our  college  and  university  sj'stem  on  the  other. 

There  are  some  interesting  commercial  schools  in  Russia,  Holland  and 
some  of  the  other  countries  in  Europe.  Russia  has  what  may  perhaps  be 
called  the  oldest  commercial  school  in  the  world.  But  as  I  was  unable  to 
visit  the  other  European  countries,  I  thought  best  not  to  attempt  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  schools,  relying,  as  I  should  have  been  obliged  to  do,  entirely 
on  the  accounts  of  others. 

It  will  be  seen  that  but  little  space  is  given  to  England  or  English 
schools.  The  reason  is  plain  to  one-who  knows  the  facts.  There  is  no 
institution  in  Great  Britain  which  fairly  deserves  the  name  of  Commercial 
High  School  in  the  sense  used  in  this  report.  England  is  beginning  to 
wake  up  to  the  necessity  of  this  sort  of  education.  Boards  of  Trade, 
Teachers'  Conventions,  Educational  Societies  have  all  begun  to  agitate 
for  its  introduction.  The  growing  displacement  of  English  youth  in  the 
great  business  houses  of  Eondon  by  French,  German  and  even  Italian 
5'outh  began  to  attract  public  attention  more  than  ten  years  ago.  Finally, 
vsome  six  years  ago  the  London  Chamber  of  "Commerce  took  up  the 
subject  in  earnest,  and  later  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
and  then  many  other  institutions  and  societies. 

Instead  of  taking  hold  of  the  subject  at  the  right  end  and  organizing 
a  great  institution  in  London,  which  might  serve  as  a  model  for  such 
schools  elsewhere,  the  EnglivSh  began  their  work  in  this  field,  as  in  many 
similar  instances,  by  establishing  examinations,  and  granting  commercial 
certificates  to  all  such  pupils  as  could  pass  them.  As  there  were  no 
schools  where  the  candidates  could  prepare  for  these  examinations,  they 
had  to  wait  until  existing  classical  or  scientific  schools  could  see  their 
way  to  the  profitable  introduction  of  the  commercial  side.  When  a  school 
here  and  there  finally  decided  to  open  a  commercial  department  it  was 
found  that  in  all  England  there  were  no  properly  qualified  teachers  for 
this  work.  The  outcome  of  the  examinations  has  been,  therefore,  most 
un.satisfactory,  and  there  is  talk  of  abolishing  tho.se  in  connection  with 
Oxford.  The  London  exi)criment  has  been  the  most  .succe.s.sful  and  it 
seems  likely  to  contiiuie.  But  the  chief  advantage  from  this  movement 
thus  far  in  England  has  been  that  it  has  called  public  attention  to  the 
great  need  of  opjxjrtunities  for  some  mercantile  education  of  English 
youth.  There  is  little  doubt  that  England  will  shortly  take  the  matter  up 
in  earnest,  when  we  may  expect  excellent  results. 


XXI 

There  is  little  doubt  that  an  association  like  the  American  Bankers' 
Association,  however,  could  do  an  immense  amount  toward  educating  the 
general  public  as  well  as  bank  clerks  and  officials  along  a  few  special 
lines  if  it  would  prepare  careful  sjdlabi  of  courses  of  reading  along 
banking  and  financial  lines  specifying  books,  order  of  reading,  etc.,  and 
then  provide  for  examination  to  be  held  on  the  subjects  and  the  granting 
of  certificates.  The  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy  receives 
letters  continuall}^  from  young  men  engaged  in  banks  throughout  the 
country  asking  for  aid  in  pursuing  their  education  along  special  lines 
relating  to  banking  and  finance  :  but  its  circumstances  do  not  permit  i1 
to  do  this  work  at  present.  This  association,  however,  could  do  this 
ser\nce  in  an  admirable  way,  and  if  it  should  undertake  it  many  men 
throughout  the  entire  country   would  rise  up  and  call  it  blessed. 

There  is,  at  present,  a  special  reason  why  we  in  the  United  States 
should  provide  facilities  for  adequate  education  along  mercantile  lines  in 
the  narrow  sense  of  the  term.  We  are  rapidly  nearhig  the  point  in  our 
manufacturing  industry  when  we  may  expect  to  compete  with  England, 
Germany  and  France  in  foreign  markets.  In  this  field  of  enterprise, 
England  is  at  great  advantage  because  of  long  possession  ;  France  and 
Germany,  because  of  the  better  training  and  education  of  their  j-outh  who 
enter  their  business  houses  in  foreign  countries.  If  we  wish  to  find  such 
competition  successful,  we  must  be  able  to  find  a  ready  supply  of  trained 
men  for  foreign  correspondence  and  ser^-ice  ;  men  who  have  had  sj-stem- 
atic  training  in  foreign  languages  and  in  the  geography  and  industries  of 
foreign  countries.  Such  a  training  it  is  the  business  of  a  commercial  high 
school  to  give. 

The  curriculum  of  a  properly  organized  commercial  high  school  would 
contain  many  elements  of  a  liberal  character.  The  history  of  commerce 
and  commercial  institutions,  commercial  geography  with  the  necessary" , 
preliminary  work  in  physical  geography,  the  study  of  products,  the  theory 
and  practice  of  accounting  are  all  subjects  of  general  interest  to  every 
educated  man  whether  he  is  going  into  business  or  not ;  while  the  study 
of  commercial  law  in  all  its  ramifications  is  not  inferior,  in  its  liberalizing 
tendencies,  to  international  law  or  general  jurisprudence  itself.  Such  a 
curriculum  would  prove,  therefore,  a  valuable  element  in  our  general 
scheme  of  education,  and  would  contribute  powerfiilly  toward  strengthen- 
ing the  hold  of  our  public  high  school  system  upon  the  aflFections  and 
interest  of  the  community. 


PART   II. 


A. 

Higher  Commercial    Instruction  in  Austria. 


Historic  Review. 

The  history  of  mercantile  instruction  in  Austria  down  to  the  fifties  in 
this  century  stands  in  a  certain  relation  to  the  history  of  the  Real  school. 
The  oldest  institution  which  had  for  its  purpose  the  promotion  of  instruc- 
tion in  modern  subjects  was  the  Real-Handlungs-Akademie  in  Vienna, 
whose  foundation  dates  back  to  the  reign  of  Empress  Maria  Theresia. 
This  acadeni}',  which  was  intended  to  train  not  merely  efficient  mer- 
chants, but  also  high-class  officials  for  the  economic  and  financial  depart- 
ments of  the  government,  as  well  as  skillful  commercial  experts, 
developed  in  a  most  happy  manner.  It  was  well  directed  and  corre- 
sponded completely  to  the  wants  of  the  time,  in  which  lectures  on 
mercantile  subjects  were  delivered  to  the  law  students  who  attended  the 
Theresian  and  Savoyan  academies  for  nobles.  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  1770,  in  which  the  opening  of  this  institution  took  place,  the 
Austrian  Government  guaranteed  a  certain  support  to  the  institution  from 
the  public  treasury,  and  enlarged  the  curriculum  to  a  two  years'  course. 
The  plan  of  study  of  this  institution  embraced  all  those  subjects  which 
are  now  taught  in  commercial  schools,  and,  in  addition,  geometry, 
mechanics,  moral  and  civil  law,  philosophy  and  morals.  The  instruction 
in  languages  embraced  German,  French  and  Italian.''' 

The  Real-IIandlungs-Akademie,  in  spite  of  the  promising  beginning 
of  its  activity,  did  not  .succeed  in  maintaining  a  permanent  existence. 
With  the  re-organization  of  the  entire  sy.stem  of  education  in  Austria,  in 
1805,  it  lost  its  independent  position  as  a  professional  school.  Under  the 
name  of  the  Real-Akademie  it  became  the  first  Real  school  of  Austria, 
which  had  the  third  and  highest  grade  of  elementary  instruction,  in  a 
narrow  sense  of  the  term,  joined  immediately  onto  the  fourth  class  of  the 
normal  school. 

The  object  of  this  curriculum  was  the  education  of  youth  who 
intended  to  devote  themselves  to  the  higher  arts,  to  trade,  to  banking  and 
bookkeeping.  The  subjects  which  are  essential  for  a  commercial  insti- 
tution were  limited  to  the  la.st  and  highest  class — that  of  the  third  year. 

This  la.st  circumstance  rendered  very  easy  the  new  organization  which 
was  given  to  the  Vienna  Real  vSchool  in  the  year  18 15,  when  the  govern- 
ment, following^  the  suggestion  which  Bohemia  had  given  in  1806  by  the 
organization  of  the  first  German  polytechnic  .school  in  Prague,  established 

*Thi,s  account  is  abridged  from  tne   Centialblatl  fin  das  gewerbliclu  Unlet  richtswesen   in  Oester- 
retch,  VI.  Band,  Heft.  3-4,  p.  173  aud  following. 


in  that  year  the  Polytechnic  School  in  Vienna.  The  first  two  \'ears  of  the 
Real  School  were  converted  into  a  general  preparatory'  school  for  the 
Polytechnic  Institute.  The  third  year  was  extended  to  a  second  com- 
mercial division  of  technology.  This  arrangement  was  based  upon  the 
correct  idea  that  a  merchant  needs  for  his  business  thorough  technological 
knowledge,  while  the  technologist  also  needs  commercial  knowledge. 
Similar  commercial  courses  to  that  in  Vienna  were  organized  in  the  Poly- 
technic Institutes  of  Krakau  and  L,emberg. 

The  commercial  instruction  in  the  coast  lands  developed  along 
entirel)'  independent  lines  from  the  above  foundations,  which  were 
naturally  adapted  to  the  interests  of  the  internal  provinces  of  the  empire. 
In  Trieste  a  school  of  navigation  had  been  in  existence  since  1774,  when 
the  Austrian  and  Hungarian  coast  lines  belonged  to  the  administrative 
division  of  Inner- Austria.  In  181 1  a  division  for  commerce  was  added 
to  this  school  ;  from  the  institution  thus  increased  was  developed,  in  1842, 
the  present  Commercial  and  Nautical  Academy  in  Trieste. 

The  commercial  courses  in  the  technical  schools,  how^ever,  did  not 
succeed  in  obtaining  the  hoped-for  influence  in  those  circles  whose 
interests  they  were  intended  to  serve,  nor  could  the}-  correspond  to  the 
varied  demands  of  the  mercantile  classes,  which  naturally  insisted  upon 
a  training  suited  to  their  various  conditions.  In  order  to  meet  this  want, 
which  was  naturally  felt  most  keenly  in  Vienna,  the  Geyer  Commercial 
School  in  1S40,  and  later  the  Patzelt,  were  organized  as  private  under- 
takings, and  in  1848  the  Corporation  Commercial  School  was  organized 
by  the  corporation  of  Vienna  merchants.  In  the  southern  portion  of  the 
empire,  the  private  commercial  school  in  Laibach  is  worthy  of  mention. 

These  institutions  satisfied  the  demand  down  to  the  middle  of  the 
century,  but  on  account  of  the  general  revolution  in  political  and  economic 
life  after  the  year  1848  — the  development  of  the  railroad  and  the  tele- 
graph, the  establishment  of  great  banks  with  foreign  capital,  etc.,— it  was 
a  natural  consequence  that  entirely  different  and  higher  demands  were 
made  in  the  field  of  commercial  education  than  formerly. 

In  order  to  an.swer  these  changed  conditions,  a  lively  agitation 
appeared  almost  contemporaneously  in  the  leading  cities  of  the  monarchy 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  higher  conniiercial  schools  by  private  and 
public  corporations.  This  led,  in  a  short  time,  to  the  establishment  of 
commercial  academies  in  Prague  (German,  organized  in  1856),  Vienna 
(1858),  Pesth  (1857).  Following  these  new  foundations  came  later 
similar  institutions  in  Gratz  (1863),  Bohemian  Academy  in  Prague 
ri872),  the  commercial  academies  in  Linz  and  Chrudim  (1882)  and 
Innsbruck  ( 1887). 

The  curricula  of  these  higher  connnercial  institutions,  among  which 
.should  be  included  the  Commercial  and  Nautical  Academy  at  Trieste, 
were  no  more  nearly  uniform  in  Austria  than  were  those  of  similar  schools 
in  other  ICuropean  countries.  The  endeavor  to  secure  for  the  graduates 
of  such  .schools  the  privileges  of  the  one-year  Military  Service  L,aw  has 
led,  however,  to  a  gradual  assimilation  of  the  curricula  in  these  various 
in.stitutions,  with  the  exce])tion  of  the  academy  at  Gratz  and  the  higher 
public  course  for  mercantile  instruction  at  Trieste. 

It  may  be  remarked  here  that  an  attcmjit  was  made  by  tlie  law  of 
February  27.  1873,  to  regulate  the  entire  field  of  commercial  instruction 
for  that  portion  of  Austria  below  the  Imuis. 


3 

THE  PRINCIPAL    COMMtRCIAL    INSTITUTIONS. 


I.     THE  COMMERCIAL  ACADEMY  IN  VIENNA. 


A.  First  Pkriod  (From  the  establishment  oi  the  academy  down  to  1872). 

Karly  in  the  year  1856,  B.  W.  Ohligs,  a  manufacturer,  made  a  motion 
in  tlie  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Trades  for  lower  Austria  to  establish 
in  Vienna  a  general  mercantile  institute.  He  justified  the  motion  by  the 
exposition  of  the  importance  of  commerce  as  one  of  the  leading  factors 
of  the  national  economy.  While  instruction  for  the  technical  callings  was 
.secured,  to  a  certain  extent  at  lea.st,  by  various  institutions  of  learning, 
the  professional  training  of  the  future  merchant  was  on  the  whole  neglected. 
This  defective  mercantile  training  was,  in  his  opinion,  a  chief  rea.son  why, 
in  spite  of  the  great  victories  of  Au.strian  industry  in  international  exposi- 
tions, the  trade  of  Austria  was  limited  almost  entirely  to  internal  commerce. 
The  consulates  needed  men  with  mercantile  training  ;  the  commerce  of 
Austria  being  represented  in  foreign  states  by  non-Austrian  agents  and 
middlemen.  The  remedy  must,  therefore,  be  sought  in  the  establishment 
of  commercial  institutions  which  .should  be  organized  to  an.swer  these 
demands. 

This  .suggestion  was  warmly  approved  :  The  proposition  b)-  Ohligs 
was  supported  by  Mr.  Frederick  Schey,  Peter  Murman,  Theodore  Horn- 
bostle,  E.  Seybl  and  Edward  Dra.sche.  The  meeting  of  the  founders,  held 
on  the  nineteenth  of  November,  1856,  showed  that  there  was  no  longer  any 
doubt  of  the  success  of  the  undertaking.  The  government  gave  its  con- 
sent on  the  fifth  of  January,  1857,  to  the  formation  of  an  As.sociation 
for  the  P'^stablishment  of  a  Higher  Commercial  In.stitution  in  Vienna,  and 
for  the  opening  of  a  general  subscription.  It  was  largelv  due  to  the  efforts 
of  Mr.  Frederick  Schey  that  this  association,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  April, 
1857,  o^^  the  date  of  its  first  general  meeting,  showed  a  membership  of 
563,  with  a  fund  of  352,780  florins,  which  had  been  subscribed  for  the 
purpose  mentioned.  At  this  meeting  the  proposed  statutes  of  the  associa- 
tion were  accepted,  and  the  admini.strative  council  chosen.  'Its  fir.st 
president  was  Mr.  Frederick  Schey,  who  held  this  position  until  his  death 
on  the  fifteenth  of  July,  1881.  The  Ministry  of  Education  approved  of 
the  Constitution  on  the  twentj'-first  of  October,  1S57  ;  the  .school  was 
opened  on  the  thirteenth  of  January,  1858,  in  a  treasury  building  in  the 
Renngas.se,  in  which  the  Mini.stry  of  Finance  had  granted  the  u.se  of 
certain  rooms  on  the  nineteenth  of  March,  1857.  The  school  opened  with 
fifty-nine  pupils,  and  in  October,  1858,  it  numbered  170  regular  pupils, 
besides  the  pupils  in  the  evening  courses,  organized  for  those  persons  who 
were  engaged  in  mercantile  occupations  during  the  day. 

The  institution  establi.shed  by  the  Association  of  the  Vienna  Com- 
mercial Academy  has,  in  the  course  of  time,  undergone  many  changes, 
but  the  general  body  of  .statutes  of  the  year  1857  has  remained  in  all 
es.sential  features  unchanged.  The  Vienna  Conuuercial  Academy  is  the 
creation  of  a  special  association  formed  for  the  purpose,  and  not  that 
of  a  corporation  or  of  a  city  like  the  other  commercial  academies  of 
Au.stria. 


This  association  consists  first,  of  honorary  members  ;  second,  of 
founders,  that  is  such  persons  as  pa}-  j-early  the  sum  of  315  florins  during 
their  Hfetime  to  the  support  of  the  institution,  or,  at  least  3150  florins  in 
six  equal  installments  ;  third,  of  associate  founders,  i.  e.,  such  persons  as 
contribute  sums  less  than  3150  florins  and  exceeding  525  florins  ;  and 
fourth,  of  members,  /.  <f.,  such  persons  as  pay  a  contribution  of  less  than 
525  florins.  The  various  classes  of  members  taken  together  constitute 
the  General  Assembl)'.  No  member  has  any  special  rights,  except  a  founder, 
who  has  the  right  to  establish  a  scholarship,  and  for  twenty  years  there- 
after to  name  the  holder  thereof. 

The  General  Assembly  chooses  the  Administrative  Council,  which 
consists  of  twelve  members,  of  whom  six  must  belong  to  the  class  of 
tradesmen  and  manufacturers. 

The  Administrative  Council  chooses  from  its  members  a  president 
and  vice-president  for  the  term  of  one  5-ear,  who  are  eligible  for  re-election 
indefinitely.  The  Administrative  Council  chooses  the  director  and  the 
professors  of  the  institution,  as  well  as  the  subordinate  officials  and  em- 
ploj'es.  The  appointment  of  the  director,  professors  and  other  instructors 
is  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  JSIinistry  of  Education.  The  Administra- 
tive Council  fixes  the  amount  of  tuition,  assigns  the  scholarships,  and 
manages  the  propert}'  of  the  institute.  The  executive  organ  of  the 
Administrative  Council  is  the  director  of  the  academy.  He  is  entrusted 
with  the  scientific  and  disciplinary  management  of  the  institution  ;  he  is 
responsible  to  the  Administrative  Council  according  to  the  existing  general 
rules  and  regulations  of  the  a.ssociation. 

The  public  spirit  of  Vienna  citizens  had  established  the  commercial 
acadeni}'.  It  was  of  special  importance  for  its  further  development  that 
the  Administrative  Council  succeeded  in  obtaining  as  director,  Mr.  Franz 
Hauke,  who,  a  few  3'ears  before,  had  been  prominently  connected  with  the 
establishment  of  the  fir.st  superior  Real  schools  in  Austria.  In  con.struct- 
ing  the  curriculum  of  the  institution  great  difficulties  were  to  be  overcome. 
For  one  could  not,  as  in  the  case  of  the  gj-nuiasium,  draw  upon  the 
experience  of  centuries  in  constructing  its  curriculum.  Ohligs  had 
sketched  out  the  first  curriculum  for  a  higher  commercial  institution  with 
a  three  }'ears'  course.  This  plan  was  made  the  basis  of  the  program  of  the 
institutioif  on  the  sixteenth  of  January,  1857,  and  will  probably  continue 
to  form  in  its  comprehensive  scope,  the  ideal  of  the  school.  The  under- 
lying thought  of  the  three-class  commercial  institute  was  retained  in  the 
curriculum  worked  out  later,  but  various  circumstances  compelled  the 
Administrative  Council  to  make  a  division  in  the  institution  which  was, 
according  to  the  original  plan,  to  have  been  organized  as  a  unit.  The 
council  establi.shed  four  classes,  of  which  the  first  two  were  preparatory, 
while  the  last  two  were  to  form  the  real  academy.  This  organization  was 
in  so  far  advantageous  as  the  pupils  who  had  not  completed  the  studies 
prescribed  for  the  academy  courses  (i.e.,  the  completion  of  the  six-form 
Real  schools  or  the  first  six  cla.sses  of  the  gynuiasium)  could  obtain  the 
desired  preliminary  preparation  in  the  preparatory  schools,  as  liad  been 
the  cu.stom  for  decades  in  technical  .schools.  This  organization  of  the 
commercial  academy  remained  in  force  from  1858  to  1872,  and  characterizes 
the  first  period  of  the  history  of  the  institution. 

We  give  below  the  curriculum  of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy 
of  the  year    1871-72,   and   note   further  the    fact   that   at   that  time  the 


instruction  in  foreij^n  languages  was  not  given  by  classes,  but  in  three 
alternating  yearly  courses. 

I.      PRKrARATORY  CLA.SSRS. 

I.  II. 
Preparatory  Class. 

SrUJ  KCT.  Hours  per  Week. 

German 4  4 

French,  English  or  Italian 3  3 

Arithmetic  and  Algel)ra 5  5 

Geoojraphy      3  3 

History 3  3 

Physics 2  4 

Natural   History 3  2 

Pemuanship 2  2 

Total 25  26 

ACADEMY. 

1st  Year.     2d  Year. 

SUnjI<:CT.  Hours  per  Week. 

Commercial  Arithmetic 3  3 

Bookkeeping      2  — 

Commercial  Correspondence 2  — 

Model  Office —  8 

Commercial  Law 4  — 

Austrian  Laws  relating  to  Trades  and  Profe.s.sious      —  2 

Political  Economy —  5 

Commercial  Geograph}-  and  Statistics 2  2 

]\Iodern  History  and  History  of  Commerce 2  2 

Chemistry  and  Chemical  Technology 3  2 

INIechanical  Technology  and  Technical  Study  of  Products 2  2 

German  Language  and  Literature 2  — 

One  Foreign  Language 3  3 


Total 


25  29 


The  Vienna  Commercial  Academy,  as  was  proper  for  a  professional 
school,  always  .sought  to  maintain  an  intimate  connection  with  practical 
life,  which  is  evidenced  by  the  regular  visits  made  by  the  pupils,  tinder 
the  direction  of  their  in.strtictors,  to  public  collections,  indu.strial  establi.sh- 
ments,  and  to  the  great  commercial  centres  of  the  Orient.  As  might  have 
been  expected,  in  spite  of  the  high  tuition,  150  florins  a  year,  with  inci- 
dental fees  of  five  florins,  the  attendance  at  the  institution  steadily 
increa.sed.  Pupils  came  not  only  from  Vienna,  but  from  all  parts  of  the 
monarchy-  belonging  to  the  commercial  district  of  Vienna,  especially  from 
Hungary,  Galicia  and  Moravia.  Pupils  who  had  completed  this  course 
fotind  employment  very  easily  ;  the  government  recognized  also  the  high 
character  of  the  school  on  the  twenty-second  of  February,  1868.  by 
granting  to  the  graduates  of  the  .school  the  privileges  of  the  one-year 
military  .service. 

The  opening  of  its  own  building  on  the  twelfth  of  October,  1862,  was 
an  external  sign  of  the  prosperity  of  the  in.stitution.  In  order  to  cover 
the  cost  of  this  building  a  second  subscription  was  opened  by  the  associa- 
tion in  1869,  with  gratifying  results.  The  other  obligations  of  the  school 
were  met  from  187 1  on,  from  the  .surplus  which  the  regular  income  showed 
over  the  regular  expenditure. 

Encouraged  by  these  favorable  circum.stances  the  management  next 
considered    plans    involving    the    enlargement  of   the    program   of   the 


6 

school,  but  these  were  not  carried  out  until  upon  the  death  of  the  first 
director,  Franz  Hauke,  on  the  second  of  July,  1S71,  Alois  Czedik,  of 
Brundelsberg,  was  elected  director  of  the  academy. 

B.     Second  Period  (1872  to  1S77). 

In  this  old  organization  the  Vienna  Commercial  Acadeni}-  had  served 
especially  the  wants  of  those  people  looking  toward  banking,  although 
the  gradual  extension  of  instruction  in  natural  science  showed  that  the 
wants  of  merchants  were  not  neglected.  Whoever  wished  to  prepare  him- 
self for  work  in  transportation  or  insurance  was  obliged  to  have  recourse 
to  other  schools  existing  at  that  time  in  Vienna,  supported  either  by  the 
government  or  by  various  corporations  or  companies. 

Following  the  suggestion  of  the  management  of  the  academy  the 
railway  companies  closed  their  schools  for  applicants  for  positions  in  tlie 
railway  service,  and  the  Royal  Ministry  of  Commerce  its  courses  for  tele- 
graphic operators.  At  the  same  time,  in  combination  with  the  insurance 
companies,  they  offered  to  the  academy  large  grants  of  money  for  the 
period  of  six  years,  in  return  for  which,  in  the  year  1872,  the  academy 
opened  courses  for  railway  service,  postal  service,  telegraph  service  and 
insurance.  The  curricula  were  worked  out  in  consultation  with  the  con- 
tributing parties  ;  the  railroad  companies  declared  those  who  had  com- 
pleted such  a  course  to  be  prepared  for  admissioti  into  the  corresponding- 
branch  of  the  ser\-ice. 

The  problem  now  was  to  connect  this  new  course  with  that  of  the  old 
academy,  which  on  its  part  needed  some  reform.  For  in  the  course  of 
time  the  preparatory  classes,  which  had  practically  become  a  two-form 
intermediate  school,  were  not  at  all  in  a  po.sition  to  compete  on  equal 
terms  with  the  three-form  Real  school,  or  with  the  four-form  superior 
gymnasium. 

The  General  Assembly,  therefore,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  1872, 
upon  proposal  of  the  Administrative  Council,  ordered  the  reorganization  of 
the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy.  In  the  place  of  the  former  unified 
school,  two  institutions  were  now  organized,  each  with  its  own  manage- 
ment and  its  own  body  of  instructors.  The  two  preparatory  years  and 
the  first  year  of  the  academy  were  combined  into  a  three  year  commercial 
intermediate  school.  The  second  year  of  the  academy  and  the  separate 
courses,  mentioned  above,  were  combined  into  a  new  commercial  instit;:- 
tion,  called  later  the  "  Conunercial  High  School." 

A  similar  organization  of  the  higher  mercantile  instruction  was 
decreed  for  Austria  below  the  Knns  ])y  the  law  of  the  twenty-.seventli  of 
February,  1873. 

The  establishment  of  the  Commericial  Intermediate  School  v.as 
approved  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  June,  1872,  by  the  Ministry  of  Religion 
and  Instruction.  The  institution  received  the  name  "Academic,"  and 
was  opened  in  October  of  that  year.  As  a  condition  of  admission  to 
this  institution  the  completion  of  the  lower  gymnasium  or  the  lower 
Real  school  was  rec|uired.  Whoever  had  not  completed  these  studies  at 
a  recognized  school  was  allowed  to  take  an  examination  upon  the  subject- 
matter,  provided  he  had  comj^letcd  his  fourteenth  year.  On  next  page  is 
given  the  curriculum  of  the  Academic  Conunercial  Intermediate  School 
for  the  year  1876  : 


ACADEMIC  INTliRMEDIATK  vSCHOOL,  OF  C(JMMERCIi:. 

Hours  per  Week. 

I.  2.  3. 

SUnjlvCT.  Class. 

German  Language 3  3  2 

French 4  3  3 

English   or   Itahan 4  3  "      3 

Geography 3  2  2 

History         2  2  2 

Mathematics  .    .    .        .• 4  2  i 

Commercial  Arithmdic 3  4  3 

Physics 2  2  — 

Chemistry —  3  2 

Natural   Ilistory 4  —  — 

Study  of  Commercial  Products —  2  3 

Correspondence  and  Office  Work      —  5  — 

Bookkeeping    and  Correspondeuc  • —  —  4 

Commercial  Law —  —  4 

Political   Economy —  —  2 

Penmanship 2  —  — 

Total 31         31         31 

The  chief  distinction  between  this  cnrricnlnm  and  that  of  the  former 
academy  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  in  the  new  institution  the  learning 
of  two  foreign  langtiages  was  required,  in  such  a  vvay  that  all  the  pupils 
were  required  to  study  French,  and  to  choose  either  English  or  Italian  in 
addition.  From  this  time  on  instruction  in  the  foreign  languages  was 
given  consecutivel)'  by  classes. 

The  final  organization  of  the  higher  division  was  effected  after  a  one 
year's  trial,  1872-73,  on  the  basis  of  the  "Organic  Statute,"  which  was 
modeled  after  that  of  the  technical  high  schools  of  Austria,  and  was 
approved  by  the  Ministry  of  Education  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  1873. 
This  new  institution  bore  the  name  ' '  Commercial  High  School. ' '  A  curator 
was  appointed  as  the  representative  of  the  Administrative  Council,  whose 
business  was  a  general  super\-ision  of  the  management  of  the  institution. 
Herr  Czedik  was  appointed  to  this  position,  which  he  held  during  the 
entire  existence  of  this  school.  The  immediate  direction  and  government 
of  the  institution  was  vested  in  the  body  of  professors,  who  elected  each 
year  from  their  midst  a  rector,  such  election  being  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  Administrative  Cotmcil,  and  the  ratification  of  the  Ministry  of 
Religion  and  Instruction. 

The  Commercial  High  School  was  divided  into  three  divisions  :  the 
first  for  banking  ( incltuling  insurance  and  mortgage  banks) ;  the  second 
merchandising  (incltiding  express  shipping  and  manufacturing)  ;  and  the 
third  for  transportation  (incltiding  railways,  post  and  telegraphs ) . 

Fotir  semesters  were  rccjiiired  to  complete  the  course  of  the  Commer- 
cial High  School.  The  principle  of  freedom  of  sttidy  and  freedom  of 
teaching  was  established.  A  distinction  was  made  between  the  regular 
and  special  sttidents.  Only  those  were  accepted  as  regular  students  who 
presented  a  certificate  of  graduation  froiu  an  intermediate  school,  or  who 
could  pass  an  examination  upon  an  equivalent  course  (though  this  latter 
provision  was  limited  to  the  duration  of  three  years) ,  and  only  those 
students  were  permitted  to  pass  this  examination  who  had  completed  their 
eighteenth  year.  Whoever  could  not  fulfill  the.se  conditions  might  be 
enrolled  as  a  special  student,  if  he  were  at  least  eighteen  years  of  age. 
Most  of  the  piipils  in  the  railway,  postal  and  telegraph  coitnses  were  special 


8 

students.  Such  students  did  not  receive  certificates  of  graduation,  but 
merely  certificates  of  attendance. 

The  examinations  of  the  regular  students  were  divided  into  term 
examinations  at  the  'end  of  each  semester,  and  final  examinations,  of  a 
severe  character,  for  those  who  had  completed  four  semesters  in  the 
Commercial  High  School.  Those  students  who  had  passed  the  severe 
examinations  in  all  subjects  of  the  respective  .courses  received  a 
diploma. 

Those  pupils  in  tlie  transportation  courses  who  were  preparing  them- 
selves for  railway,  postal  and  telegraph  service  were  allowed  to  pass 
special  examinations  before  special  examining  commissions  appointed  by 
the  Ministr>^  of  Commerce  and  the  Austrian  railway  managements  who 
contributed  to  the  support  of  these  courses. 

In  order  to  show  the  character  of  the  Commercial  High  School,  we 
print  below  the  list  of  lectures  for  1875-76  : 

List  of  Courses  0/  Listnution  offered  in  the   Coini/iereial  High   Sclwol  for 

the  School  Year  iSy^-j6. 

I.  WINTER  TERM. 

A.     BRANCHES    RKIvATiNG  TO    COMMERCE,    COMMUNICATIOX 
AND    TRANSPORTATION. 

Hours. 

1  Coniuiercial  Arithmetic 3 

2  Political  Arithmetic 2 

3  Bookkeeping  :  Theoretical  part 4 

4  Bookkeeping  :  Practical  work  in  mercantile  and  mannfactnring  business  .    .  6 

5  Study  of  Usage  and  Casting  of  Produce 3 

6  Life  Insurance  and  Annuities 2 

7  General  Study  of  Products  (W.  T.)      5 

8  Mechanical  Technology 3 

9  Chemical  Technology,  includiug  the  study  of  chemical  products 3 

10  Theory  of  Electricity  in  its  Application  to  Telegraphy 3 

I  r   Practical  Exercises  in  Telegraphy 6 

12  Telegraphic  Service 2 

i'^  Railroad  Technology 2 

14  Freight  Traffic  (W.  T.) 5 

15  Pa.ssenger  Traffic  (W.  T. ) 5 

16  Postal  Laws  and  Postal  Service 6 

17  Commercial  Correspondence 2 

i.S  Calculation  of  Exchange,  with  special  reference  to  the  most  important  com 

mercial  centres  (W.  T. ) i 

19  Railroad  Statistics  (W.  T.) 3 

B.    POI.ITICO-I.EOAL  SUBJECTS. 

20  Commercial  Law,  including  that  of  Bills  of  Exchange 4 

21  Law  of  Bankrn])tcv i 

22  Maritime  Law i 

23  Tariff  Laws  of  Austria  and  of  leading  foreign  countries I 

24  Civil  Law 3 

25  Ivlcmentary  Law i 

26  Railroad  Law  iW.  T.) 5 

27  Theory  of  Commerce 2 

28  Political  I':conomy  (\V.  T.)      3 

29  Austrian  Constitutional  and  Administrative  I^aw  (W.  T.) 2 

30  General  Course  in  the  Political  Sciences 4 

31  Law  Relating  to  Trades  and  Professions  (W.  T.) I 


9 

C.  HISTORICO-GEOGRAPHICAL  SUBJECTS.  Hours. 

32  General  History  of  Recent  Times 3 

33  History  of  Commerce i 

34  History  and  Development  of  Railroads  (W.  T. ) 2 

35  Commercial  and  Industrial  Geography 3 

36  Railroad  Geoi,rraphy 2 

37  Commercial  and  Industrial  Statistics  (W.  T.) 2 

38  Geographical  Lvxercises  (W.  T.) I 

D.  I^INGUISTIC  AND  GENERAL  SUBJECTS. 

39  German  Literature 2 

40  General  Chemistry 3 

41  French  :   First  Course       3 

Second  Course 3 

42  English  :  First  Course 3 

Second  Course 3 

43  Italian  :    First  Course 3 

Second  Course 3 

44  Stenography 2 

II.  SUMMER  TERM. 

The  courses  given  in  the  Winter  Term,  with  the  exception  of  those  followed  by 
\V.  T.  in  the  preceding  list,  were  also  given  in  the  Summer  Term,  and  in  addition  the 
following  courses  : 

Hours. 

45  Insurance  against  Damage     i 

46  Telegraphic  Exercises  in  Signaling      2 

47  Bookkeeping  : 

a.  In  a  Bank 6 

d.  Railroad  Bookkeeping 2 

48  Laws  Relating  to  Shipping  and  FVeight  Business •    •    .    .    .  i 

49  Political  Economy  Seminary 3 

50  Finance 3 

51  Railroad  Administration 3 

52  Railroad  Fxonomy 2 

53  Railroad  Tariffs i 

54  Operating  Rules i 

55  Law  of  Transportation      i 

56  Law  Relating  to  Obligations .' i 

57  International  Law 3 

58  Commerce  Statistics      2 

59  International  Law  concerning  Bills  of  Exchange i 

60  Motors I 

61  Exchange  and  Banking  Operations 2 

62  Commercial  and  Industrial  Policy,  with  special  reference  to  Austria   ....  i 

These  two  institutions  of  the  Association  of  the  Vienna  Commercial 
Academy  existed,  however,  oidy  for  a  short  time  :  the  intermediate 
school  for  five  years,  the  high  school  for  fotir.  The  serious  restilts  of  the 
financial  crisis  which  occurred  in  May,  1873,  and  the  circum.stance  that 
the  government  and  the  contributing  private  companies,  after  the  close  of 
the  first  period,  withdrew  their  grants  of  aid,  compelled  the  management 
of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy  to  undertake  a  reorganization  of  the 
institution.  The  Commercial  High  School,  in  which  for  each  of  the 
leading  subjects  two  men  had  been  appointed,  had  been  organized  on  too 
great  a  scale  for  existing  conditions.  On  the  other  hand,  the  feeling  grew 
steadily  in  the  commercial  world  that  the  Academic  Commercial  Inter- 
mediate School  was  a  purely  intermediate  .school  of  a  general  character, 
and  not  a  professional  school  :  becatise  it  formed  only  a  preparation  for 
admission  into  the  Commercial  High  School,  and  on  this  account  limited 
the  commercial  subjects  in  its  courses  to  a  minimum.     The  public  was, 


10 

moreover,  opposed  to  a  five-year  course  of  instruction  as  being  too  long, 
and  the  graduates  of  the  intermediate  school  entered  the  high  school  only 
in  very  small  numbers.  The  consequence  was  the  reorganization  of  the 
high  school  and  the  intermediate  school.  The  first  step  taken  was  the 
reorganization  of  the  Commercial  Intermediate  School,  and  the  making 
of  it,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  classes  whose  interests  it  was 
to  serve,  a  real  professional  school,  while  from  purely  financial  considera- 
tions the  place  of  the  Commercial  High  School  was  taken  by  a  separate 
course  of  one  year  for  those  young  men  who  were  over  seventeen  years 
of  age,  and  who  could  show  evidence  of  an  adequate  liberal  training. 
Both  institutions  were  again  put  under  the  management  of  the  same 
director,  thus  establishing  a  unified  control  and  management.  As  the 
position  of  curator  was  given  up  with  the  discontinuance  of  the  high 
school,  the  instructing  body  was  again  made  the  same  for  both  institutions. 
These  changes  were  accepted  in  the  General  Assembly  on  the  twenty-fifth 
of  June,  1877,  ^^^^  were  approved  later  by  the  Ministry  of  Religion  and 
Instruction. 

C.  Third  Period  (1S77  to  1S93). 

The  third  and  latest  period  of  the  existence  of  the  Vienna  Commer- 
cial Academy  coincides  with  the  presidency  of  the  privj'  councilor,  Dr. 
Rudolph  Sonndorfer,  who  had  been  a  professor  in  the  Commercial  Higli 
School,  and  was  at  the  same  time  for  the  j-ear  1876-77  director  of  the 
intermediate  school.  In  this  double  position  he  laid  the  plans  for  the 
reorganization  of  the  institution  and  carried  them  out  with  the  beginning 
of  the  school  year  of  1877-7S. 

In  the  following  pages  is  given  a  view  of  the  development  and  organ- 
ization of  the  institution  during  this  period,  taking  up  each  division 
separately. 

a.    The  Academy  with  a  Thrcc-ycar  Course. 

The  object  of  the  three-form  academy  is  the  acquisition  of  a  higher 
commercial  training,  with  due  regard  to  those  subjects  of  a  general  educa- 
tion, acquaintance  with  which  may  be  fairly  demanded  of  ever}^  merchant. 
It  is,  therefore,  not  an  intermediate  school  which  prepares  for  a  high 
.school,  but  is  itself  a  technical  school,  which  turns  out  its  students 
furnished  with  a  theoretical  training  directly  into  practical  life. 

Those  students  are  admitted  who  have  completed  the  first  four  classes 
of  a  gymnasium,  or  of  a  Real  .school.  Such  pupils,  after  completing  tlie 
courses  of  the  Connnercial  Academy,  enjoy  the  })rivileges  of  the  one-year 
Military  Service  Law. 

Tho.se  persons  who  cannot  present  certificates  covering  the  courses 
of  study,  described  above,  but  have  at  least  completed  the  connnon  .schools 
and  are  fourteen  years  of  age,  are  admitted  to  an  entrance  examination,  in 
which  they  must  sliow  a  range  of  knowledge  corresponding  to  the  courses 
of  study  in  the  institutions  mentioned  above.  The  number  of  tliose 
pupils  who  are  admitted  on  the  basis  of  the  entrance  examination  is 
.steadily  decreasing. -i- 

Tlie  yearly  tuition  in  lliis  department,  as  in  the  graduate  department  f 

*  In  the  school  year  1S77-7S,  of  149  pupils  who  were  admitted  to  the  first-yenr's  course  only  forty- 
seven  per  cent  had  c()ini)lcte<i  the  rt-quirefl  preliminary  stiuiies  in  a  recogrnized  school.  In  the  year 
1887  HH,  on  the  contrary,  of  2,^2  admitted  to  the  first  year's  course,  209 or  ninety  per  cent  liad  completed 
the  required  studies  in  such  a  school. 

t  Compare  the  organization  of  the  same  on  page  12. 


11 

is  1 60  florins,  the  matriculation  fee,  tliree  florins.  There  are,  however, 
many  scholarships  and  remissions  of  tuition,  which  make  attendance  at  the 
school  possible  for  poor  pui>ils,  and,  therefore,  open  to  them  the  oppor- 
tunity of  enterini^  a  mercantile  career. 

Owing  to  the  age  of  the  pupils  and  the  object  of  the  school,  namely, 
to  train  efficient  merchants,  the  most  rigorous  discipline  is  enforced  in  tlie 
three-form  academy.  For  the  same  reason  the  system  of  final  examinations 
was  given  up,  which  was  characteristic  of  the  former  academy,  and  the 
pupils  are  now  examined  throughout  the  entire  year.  To  carry  out  this 
idea  more  fully,  reports  are  prepared  b}'  which  the  families  of  the  pupils 
are  kept  in  continuous  knowledge  of  their  school  work. 

Corresponding  to  the  purpo.ses  of  the  school  the  subjects  of  instruc- 
tion are  divided  into  two  groups  ;  the  professional  subjects  and  the  lil)eral 
subjects,  between  which  foreign  languages  form  a  certain  union,  as  they 
are  learned  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  mercantile  correspondence.  The 
curriculum  of  the  new  academy'  shows,  in  comparison  with  that  of  the  old 
one,  a  very  decided  advance,  in  that  it  has  not  merely  the  training  of 
young  people  for  banking  in  view,  but  owing  to  the  changed  conditions 
of  the  times,  it  has  in  view,  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  formerly,  the 
wants  of  those  who  expect  to  enter  merchandising,  chemistry  and  chemical 
technology.  The  study  of  commercial  products  and  chemical  technology 
are  taught  in  the  new,  as  they  were  in  the  old  academy. 

The  application  of  the  knowledge  thus  acquired  to  the  demands  of 
business  life  is,  however,  first  made  possible  by  the  knowledge  of  mercan- 
tile usage  and  the  study  of  products,  because  in  this  way  the  knowledge  of 
the  basis  of  commerce,  namely,  the  classification  of  goods,  freight  rates,  etc., 
is  first  brought  home  to  the  student.  This  subject  completes  in  a  certain 
wa}^  the  instruction  for  merchandising.  It  was  introduced  into  the  high 
school  by  Ur.  Sonndorfer,  and  was  retained  in  the  three-form  academy. 
In  the  year  1880-81  tariff"  legislation  and  administration  was  also  intro- 
duced as  an  elective  branch  of  study.  The  development  of  instruction  in 
the  knowledge  of  commercial  products  will  be  discussed  more  fully  later. 
In  the  table  on  page  ig  the  number  and  distribution  of  the  subjects  of 
instruction  are  given.  Details  will  be  found  in  the  catalogue  of  the 
academy.  It  should  be  mentioned  further  that  for  those  pupils  of  the 
first  cla.ss  that  have  completed  the  lower  gymnasium,  and  therefore,  as  a 
rule,  have  no  knowledge  of  French,  a  separate  course  in  French  has  been 
organized,  attendance  at  which,  however,  is  not  required  of  the  pupils. 

That  the  organization  of  the  year  1877  corresponds  to  the  wants  of 
the  commercial  world,  and  gives  guarantee  that  the  pupils  who  graduate 
possess  the  necessary  general  education  is  shown  by  the  continued  and 
growing  approval  which  the  reorganization  of  the  Commercial  Academy 
has  received  from  the  public. 

The  details  concerning  the  various  relations  of  the  pupils  are 
given  on  pages  30  and  32.  It  appears  from  them  that  the  pupils 
in  the  three-form  academy  come  mostly  from  Vienna  and  lower 
Austria  ;  they  come  in  considerable  numbers  from  Hungary,  Moravia, 
Silesia,  Bohemia  and  Galicia.  Foreign  countries  send  from  twenty-five 
to  forty  pupils  ;  it  is  plain,  therefore,  that  the  three-form  academy  is  not 
by  any  means  of  merely  local  importance.  The  institution  receives  from 
Hungary  and  the  States  along  the  lower  Danube  a  considerable  number 
of  pupils,  who  are,  however,  often  defective  in  preliminary  training.      As 


12 

it  lies  in  the  interest  of  the  commerce  of  the  monarchy,  and  especially  of 
Vienna,  that  these  elements  should  be  attracted,  the  academy  established 
some  years  ago  a  special  preparator}'  class  in  which  such  young  people 
have  an  opportunity  to  make  good  the  defects  of  their  training,  and 
especially  to  learn  the  German  language.  The  number  of  hours  has  been 
fixed  at  twenty-eight  per  week.* 

Special  importance  is  given  in  the  curriculum  to  instruction  in  Ger- 
man, French  and  mathematics.  Besides  these  subjects  geography, 
history,  physics,  natural  history-  and  penmanship  are  taught.  The 
instruction  is  given  with  reference  to  the  purpose  of  the  professional  school 
which  the  young  people  intend  to  enter  in  the  following  year.  The 
entrance  examination  for  the  first  class  of  the  academy  is  held  at  the  end 
of  the  school  j^ear. 

b.   One-year  Course  for  the  Graduates  of  the  Gymnasia  and 
Real  Schools. 

This  course  has  developed  from  a  small  beginning  into  an  institution 
which  answers  the  demands  of  wide  circles.  It  was  intended  originally 
for  such  youths  as  were,  at  least,  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  had  pursued 
an  extended  course  of  liberal  training.  At  present  it  performs  the  func- 
tions of  enabling  those  3'oung  men,  who,  after  graduation  from  the 
gymnasia  or  Real  schools,  wi.sh  to  pursue  commercial  studies,  to  com- 
plete the  course  in  these  branches  within  one  school  year.  All  the  subjects 
of  study  are  prescribed. 

In  order  to  ensure  success  in  the  prosecution  of  the  studies,  attendance 
at  the  exercises  is  insisted  upon.  At  the  end  of  the  j^ear  examinations 
are  held,  which  every  pupil  must  attend  who  wishes  to  obtain  a  certificate. 
Certificates  of  mere  attendance  are  not  given.  Only  those  pupils  are 
admitted  to  these  examinations  who  have  attended  during  the  entire 
school  year  all  the  prescribed  recitations.  The  program  of  studies  is  given 
below.  It  will  be  noted  that  each  pupil  is  required  to  learn  one  foreign 
language,  and  to  pass  an  examination  upon  it  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

This  graduate  course  gets,  as  a  rule,  most  of  its  pupils  from  Hungary  ; 
then  come  Vienna,  Moravia,  Silesia,  Galicia  and  Bohemia.  In  .some  years, 
however,  Vienna  and  lower  Austria  have  stood  third  and  fourth  in  the 
list.  It  is  notable  that  between  forty  and  forty-eight  per  cent  of  the  pupils 
are  of  non-German  birth.  This  fact  illustrates  the  position  of  this  graduate 
course  in  the  general  scheme  of  commercial  in.struction  in  the  monarchy, 
and  shows  that  the  idea  underlying  this  course  is  a  very  fruitful  one  for 
very  many  different  classes. 

CURRICULUM. 

A.       ONK-VKAR     COURSE     FOR     GRADUATES     OF     GYMNASIA      AND     REAL 

SCHOOLS. 
A,     I'RlvSCRIUED  SUBJECTS.  Hours  per  Week. 

Political  Kconoiny 2 

Coniint-rcial  (ieof^raphy  and  vStatistics 3 

Coiiinicrcial  and  Iiidusirial  Law 3 

I')(K)kkc(.-])iiij.^  and  Correspondence 6 

IMercanlile  and   Political  Arithmetic 5 

Study  of   International  Trade 2 

Stndy  of  Troducts 2 

i,ife  lusurance  and  Insurance  against  damage I 

*  See  p.  27  for  curriculum. 


13 

B.    ELECTIVE  SUBJECTS,  of  which  two  at  least  must  be  taken,  and  examination  passed  in  one. 

Hours  per  Week. 
French — First  Course  using  the  German  language  as  the  inediutn  of 

instruction 3 

French — Second  Course  using  the  French  language  as  the  medium  of 

instruction 3 

English 3 

Italian 3 

C.    OPTIONAL  SUBJECTS. 

Customs  tariff  legislation  and  administration 2 

Penmanship ....  i 

Practical  work  in  Laboratory  for  the  study  of  products 

SYNOPSIS  OF  CURRICULUM  IN  THE  ONE   AND   THREE=YEAR   COURSES 
IN  THE  VIENNA  COMMERCIAL   ACADEMY. 

A.    ONE-YEAR   COURSE. 

Political  Economy. — In  the  lectures  on  this  subject  the  object  k(ipt  in 
view  is  to  acqtiaint  the  .sttident,  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  his  thorough 
preparation,  with  the  laws  of  wealth,  and  especially  with  the  influence  of 
the  same  on  indtistry  and  commerce.  The  most  important  facts  of  the 
histor>^  of  Political  Economy  and  its  doctrines  are  disctissed,  and  special 
weight  is  laid  on  the  relation  of  these  facts  to  contemporaneotis  events  in 
the  world's  history.  Following  this,  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  pro- 
dtiction,  exchange,  distribtition  and  consumption  of  goods  are  explained, 
and  the  manifestations  of  these  laws  in  Political  Economy.  This  is  done 
in  accordance  with  the  object  of  the  school,  viz.,  special  attention  is  given 
to  these  stibjects  which  belong  to  commerce  and  indtistry  ;  in  particular, 
the  money  standard,  stocks  and  bonds,  banking,  transportation,  the  rail- 
road question,  and,  finally,  the  tariff  qtie.stion. 

This  course  of  lectures  is  closed  by  a  di.scussion  of  commercial  crises, 
their  causes  and  phenomena. 

COMMERCIAL    LAW,  LAWS    OF   BILLS  OF  EXCHANGE  AND   LAWS   RELATING* 

TO   TRADE. 

When  it  is  desired  to  give  students  a  .special  legal  training,  who  do 
not  po.ssess  any  previous  general  knowledge  of  jurisprudence,  one  must 
continually  strive  to  show  how  the  law  to  be  di.scus.sed  and  its  precepts 
are  the  results  of  the  needs  of  life  and  trade,  in  order  to  awaken  a  lively 
interest  in  the  subject  and  to  make  possible  a  correct  understanding  of 
legal  decisions. 

The  lectures  begin  with  the  regulations  relating  to  bills  of  exchange, 
because  the.se  form  a  complete  whole,  and  are  acknowledged  to  be  a  mas- 
terpiece of  legi.slation,  and  con.seqitently  rapidly  familiarize  the  students 
with  legal  forms  and  terms.  A  preliminary  study  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  history  of  bills  of  exchange  and  of  laws  relating  to  them, 
and  also  the  management  of  in.stitutions  for  dealing  in  bills  of  exchange, 
is  followed  by  an  explanation  of  the  separate  laws  with  special  regard 
to  the  needs  of  practical  life. 

After  this  is  sttidied,  in  the  same  manner,  general  commercial  law, 
in  the  course  of  which  relerence  is  made  to  those  parts  of  the  general  civil 
law  which  are  of  interest  in  this  connection,  as  well  as  to  these  parts  of 
commercial  law  and  usage  whicli  are  not  yet  codified.  This  course  is 
clo.sed  by  a  short  description  ot  the  principal  laws  in  force  relating  to 
trades  and  industries. 


14 

Commercial  Geography  and  Statistics. — Commercial  geography  con- 
siders the  earth  as  an  economic  unit  and  the  single  States  as  economic  factors 
in  the  great  organism  of  the  world's  economy.  It  shows  how  production, 
industry,  commerce  and  trade  of  the  separate  peoples  develop  themselves 
on  the  basis  of  geographical,  ethnographical  and  geological  conditions. 

In  the  lectures  on  commercial  geography  and  statistics,  the  European 
countries,  as  also  the  most  important  countries  outside  of  Europe,  are 
thoroughl}'  treated  in  a  manner  based  on  the  advanced  preliminary  prep- 
aration enjoyed  by  the  students. 

Textbook:  Dr.  C.  Zehden,  Handelsgeographie. 

BOOKKEEPING    AXD    CORRESPOXDEXCE. 

a.  Bookkeeping. — Exact  explanations  and  detailed  illustrations  in 
respect  to  form,  arrangement  and  object  of  the  separate  books  are  given. 
Follo\ying  this,  complete  accounts  in  merchandise,  commission,  forward- 
ing, manufacturing  and  banking  are  worked  out  ;  accounts  current  with 
interest  computed  according  to  the  different  methods  with  special  attention 
to  that  method  of  reckoning  which  offers  the  greatest  advantage  and 
convenience  to  a  firm  in  any  of  the  above  businesses  ;  private,  suspense 
and  joint  accounting  in  mercantile  and  bank  business  ;  and,  finally, 
accounting  and  balancing  for  ordinary  partnerships  and  limited  and  joint 
stock  companies. 

Textbook  :  R.  Schiller,  Lehrbuch  der  Buchhaltung. 

b.  Correspondence. — The  instruction  in  this  study  has  for  its  object 
the  giving  to  students  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  varied  incidents  of  a 
mercantile  business,  about  which  a  written  correspondence  is  necessary, 
and  to  acquaint  them  with  the  forms  of  business  letters. 

The  students  are  trained  in  the  composition  of  letters  on  mercantile, 
consignment  and  commission  transactions,  together  with  the  necessary 
invoices  and  account  of  sales  ;  also  letters  concerning  insurance  and 
forwarding  goods  ;  letters  on  bills  of  exchange,  on  referring  to  drafts  for 
the  writer's  own  or  other  accotuits  ;  on  sending  drafts  for  acceptance, 
forms  of  indirect  bills  of  exchange,  protesting  notes,  collateral  accept- 
ances, lost  drafts,  remittances,  transmitting  stocks,  together  with  notes 
and  bills  belonging  thereto,  consignments  in  specie,  making  payments, 
checks  (or  bank-bills) ,  treasury  bills,  mortgages,  checks,  rebates,  endors- 
ing bills  of  exchange,  joint  accounts  and  bank  transactions,  letters  of 
inquiry,  dunning  letters,  circular  letters,  letters  of  credit,  advertisements, 
legal  letters  and  letters  relating  to  bankruptcy. 

Textbook:  A.  Kleibel,  Lehrbuch  der  Handelscorre.spondenz. 

Commercial  Arithmetic. — Discussion  of  the  most  important  modern 
measures,  weights  and  coins ;  the  method  of  computing  di.scount  and 
interest  ;  the  computation  of  accounts  current  according  to  the  different 
methods  in  practice  ;  the  calculation  of  the  value  of  gold,  silver  and  coins. 
The  foreign  exchange  and  stock  computations  according  to  the  usage  in 
Vienna,  Am.sterdam,  Berlin,  Frank fort-on-the- Main,  Hamburg,  London 
and  Paris.  Explanations  of  the  stock  exchange  (prolongations,  trans- 
actions, computation  of  arbitration  and  equivalents  in  foreign  exchange, 
stocks,  paper,  gold  and  silver). 

Textbook  :   R.  Kathreiii,  Kaufmannische  Arilhmetik. 

Pohlical  Arithmetic.  — Conipiuing  comjiound  interest  and  interest  on 
public  rentes  witli  i)aynient  of  niterest  before  maturity  and  after  maturity, 


I 


15 

computation  of  annuities,  mortgage  loans,  ])reference  and  lottery  loans, 
forming  plans  of  sinking  funds,  explanation  of  the  conversion  of  loans. 

Kno'd'h'diie  of  /iifcrna/ional  Commcnr. — The  object  of  the  lectures 
on  this  subject  is  to  give  the  student  a  concept  of  the  world's  commerce, 
and  to  equip  him  with  such  knowledge  as  is  necessary  to  successfully 
engage  in  international  trade. 

In  these  lectures  are  treated  :  The  origin  of  the  produce  exchange, 
its  divisions  and  organization  ;  the  brokers  and  their  position  on  the 
exchange  ;  legitimate  commercial  transactions  on  the  exchange,  and  the 
exchange  boards  of  arbitration. 

The  legal  regulation  of  a  system  of  weights  and  measures ;  the 
metric,  Ivnglish,  Russian  and  Chinese  systems  (jf  weights  and  measures 
with  special  regard  to  their  position  in  the  world's  commerce.  The  .system 
of  weights  and  measures  of  the  Orient. 

The  method  used  to  determine  quality  in  the  international  grain 
trade ;  methods  of  determining  quality  of  yarn  and  silk  in  international 
commerce  (numbering  yarn  and  silk  titration) ;  alcoholometry  and 
number-mea.suring  (dozen,  .score,  etc.). 

The  .systems  of  money  of  those  European  countries  through  which 
balances  with  trans-marine  countries  are  mainly  adjusted  ;  in  addition 
the  state  of  the  money  standards,  bills  and  currencj'-quotations  in  North, 
Central,  and  South  American  markets ;  also  the  eastern  Asiatic  and 
Au.stralian  markets  ;  and,  finally,  the  money  standard  in  the  Orient. 

The  tran.sportation  of  goods  by  railroads  and  rivers,  considering  :  The 
traffic  rules  ;  the  railroad  fares  and  freight  rates  ;  classification  of  freight 
in  Austria-Hungary,  Germany  and  France;  the  international  tariff  asso- 
ciation ;  the  international  service,  together  with  the  necessary  documents. 

Ocean  transportation  of  freight,  subdivided  into :  Registering, 
classifying  and  measuring  ocean  ves.sels  ;  the  manifest  ;  the  book  of  cargo  ; 
and  the  bill  of  lading  ;  letter  of  conveyance  ;  charter-party  ;  tonnage  ; 
fixing  freight  rates  ;  the  most  important  steamship  companies,  their  lines 
and  fares  ;  the  marine  freight  insurance. 

The  price  quotations  of  the  most  important  articles  of  commerce 
(grain,  flour,  spirits,  petroleum,  cotton,  coffee,  sugar),  on  the  world's 
market,  together  with  the  usages  in  vogue  for  cash  and  time  sales.  The 
explanation  and  computation  of  equivalent  prices,  and  the  con.struction 
of  equivalent  price  tables. 

The  explanation  of  the  settlement  of  balances  In'  exports  and  imports 
is  illustrated  by  a  .series  of  examples  taken  from  actual  transactions. 

The  basis  of  the.se  lectures  is  a  book  by  Dr.  Sonndorfer,  "Die 
Technik  des  Welthandels. "  Handbiich  der  Internationalen  Handels- 
Kunde  Wien,  Alfred  Holder,  18S9.  — 

Knoiclcdgc  of  Goods. — On  the  basis  of  the  advanced  preparatory' 
study  of  the  natural  sciences,  and  after  introductor>'  remarks  (system, 
methods  of  investigation,  microscopy,  polarimetry,  structural  arrangement 
of  organic,  vegetable  and  animal  sub.stance)  from  the  jnirely  commercial 
standpoint,  the  products  of  the  world's  market  are  considered  according 
to  their  natural  hi.stor\-,  and  physical,  and  chemical  characteri.stics  ;  alter 
being  cla.ssified  their  external  and  internal  marks  of  genuineness,  and 
their  adulteration  and  substitutes  are  considered.  After  this  preparation, 
the  entire  animal,  mineral  and  vegetable  products  are  separated  into  their 
organic  branches  and  discussed,   but  the  Au.strio-Hungarian    articles  of 


16 

export  and  import  are  given  special  attention  (groceries,  foods,  luxuries, 
drugs,  raw  materials,  manufactures  of  textile  industries  and  tanneries)  ; 
besides  organic  products  technically  applied,  (coal,  petroleum  and 
metals) . 

In  addition,  special  instruction  on  the  adulteration  of  food  and  the 
detection  of  the  same  is  also  given. 

PRACTICAL   EXKRCISKS    IN    THE    LABORATORY  FOR   STUDY    OF    PRODUCTS. 

Training  in  the  Use  of  the  Mia'oscope. — Microscopical  tests  are  thor- 
oughly carried  out  for  determining  raw  material  and  manufactures.  The 
material  for  these  microscopical  examinations  is  taken  from  the  collection 
of  products  and  from  objects  sent  to  the  school  by  merchants.  To  aid  ,in 
the  lectures,  demonstrations  and  practical  exercises,  there  are  a  special 
laboratory  for  the  study  of  goods,  with  a  sample  collection  for  direct  use 
during  the  teaching,  a  museum  of  merchandise  and  a  professional  library-. 

Insurance. — Insurance  in  general,  insurance  companies,  mutual  and 
stock  companies,  granting  of  charters  to  them,  the  State's  control  of 
them,  laws  relating  to  insurance  and  their  fees  to  the  State. 

Insurance  Against  Damage. — Transportation,  fire,  hail  and  animal 
insurance,  also  re-insurance. 

Life  Insiirafice.  —  (Insurance  payable  at  death  and  insurance  payable  at 
a  certain  age,  mutual  insurance,  insurance  against  sickness  or  helpless- 
ness, accident  insurance) ,  computing  the  premium,  the  reserve,  redemp- 
tion, loans,  policies  and  reductions. 

The    insurance   business   in    its   practical    workings,   closing   accounts 
(profit,  loss  and  balance  accounts) . 

THE    FRENCH   LANGUAGE. 

As  a  large  number  of  students,  when  they  enter  the  school,  possess 
an  adequate  preparation  in  French,  the  instruction  in  this  language  is 
divided  into  two  courses,  viz  :  In  the  first  course  the  instruction  is  given 
in  German,  and  in  the  second  course  the  instruction  is  given  in  French. 

a.  First  Cojcrse :  This  course  presupposes  none,  or  only  very  little 
preliminary  knowledge  of  French.  Consequently  the  in.struction  begins 
with  the  pronunciation,  and  along  with  this  the  elements  of  etymology 
are  explained  and  by  a  series  of  carefully  selected  examples  the  pronuncia- 
tion and  etymology  are  practiced. 

In  the  second  semester,  the  construction  of  sentences  in  general  and 
the  most  important  partsof  syntax  are  treated,  and  in  this  work  continued 
oral  and  written  practice  is  required.  For  practice  in  correct  writing  and 
in  order  to  familiarize  the  .students  with  the  most  important  commercial 
expres.sions,  mercantile  letters  are  dictated  in  French.  The.se  are  di.scussed, 
corrected  and  translated  into  correct  French  ;  special  weight  is  laid  on' 
rapid  translations  from  French  into  German. 

Textbook  :  Dr.  Filek  luller  v.  Wittinghauscn,  I^lemenlarbuch  der 
franzosischen  vSprache. 

b.  Second  Course :  Extending  and  supi^leincnting  the  syntactical 
knowledge.  Brief  review  of  the  entire  grammar,  entirely  in  I-'rcnch  ;  at 
the  same  time  written  cxerci.ses,  which,  through  their  methodical  and 
graded  arrangenient  as  well  as  through  their  number  and  variety,  are 
most  suitable  to  familiarize  the  students  with  the  ordinary  forms  of  the 
language.     Tran.slation  of  classical  .selections  from   French  into  German 


17 

and  vice  versa,  with  special  regard  to  the  different  moods  of  both  languages. 
Continual  translating  of  German  letters  into  French,  paying  careful  atten- 
tion to  the  difference  in  the  connnercial  expressions ;  composition  of 
business  letters  and  somewhat  long,  independent  exercises  in  French. 
Every  week,  reading  in  French  from  the  market  and  exchange  reports. 

Textbook  :  liechtel  and  Hertzog.  ' '  Franzosische  Conversations 
grammatik  fiir  commercielle  Lehranstalten." 

THE   ENGLISH    LANGUAGE. 

The  instruction  begins — as  the  students  are  presupposed  to  have  iio- 
preliminary  knowledge  of  the  subject  whatever — with  the  very  rudiments 
of  the  language,  viz,  with  the  explanation  of  Walker's  phonetic  signs, 
in  order  that  the  students  may  be  able  to  read  even  before  they   have 
systematically  learned  the  rules  of  orthoepy. 

F^'oUowing  this  there  is  given  a  concise  statement  of  the  grammatical 
rules  which  are  practically  applied  by  means  of  the  selections  for  reading, 
and  translating  given  in  Part  I.  of  the  Textbook.  In  this  manner  the- 
students  acquire,  even  in  the  first  semester,  a  complete  sur\xy  of  the  entire 
etymology,  together  with  an  elementary  knowledge  of  the  grammar  and 
syntax,  as  well  as  a  large  number  of  the  ordinary  forms  of  expression. 
They  also  acquire  no  inconsiderable  rapidity  in  reading  and  translating. 

In  the  .second  semester  Part  II.  of  the  Textbook  is  begun.  At  first 
the  most  important  rules  for  reading  are  explained,  and  this  is  followed 
by  a  thorough  treatment  of  the  grammar  and  syntax,  which  are  methodi- 
cally subdivided  for  this  purpose.  In  connection  therewith,  these  theories 
are  applied  to  the  selections  for  reading  and  translating.  These  selections 
treat  almost  exclusivel}^  of  economic  or  commercial  subjects,  now  in  sepa- 
rate .sentences,  now  in  longer,  connected  selections  in  which  the  terminology 
u.sed  in  business  intercourse  and  commercial  correspondence  predominates. 

This  part  of  the  instruction  occupies  two  hours  a  week,  while  a  third 
hour  is  devoted  to  reading  some  FyUglish  work  written  in  a  modern  con- 
versational st3-le. 

The  above  cour.se  .sufficiently  prepares  the  student  in  this  subject  for 
the  fir.st  requirements  of  a  business  calling,  and  at  the  .same  time  the 
directions  given  place  him  in  a  position  that  by  means  of  lurther  self- 
activity,  he  can  acquire  complete  knowledge  of  the  language. 

Textbook  :   H.  Berger,  "  Lehrbuch  der  englischen  Sprache." 

THE    ITALIAN    LANGU.VGE. 

As  the  students  are  suppo.sed  to  have  absolutely  no  knowledge  of  the 
Italian  language,  the  in.struction  begins  with  the  elementary  rules  of 
pronunciation  and  grammar. 

The  first  month  is  devoted  to  written  exercises  in  the  synonyms  and 
derived  words,  by  means  of  w'hich  the  students  acquire  a  vocabular>'. 
Following  this  the  text  of  the  elementary  grammar  is  taken  up.  In  con- 
junction with  the  above,  the  regular  and  irregular  verbs  are  begun  so 
that  by  the  close  of  the  school  year  the  student  is  perfectly  conversant 
with  the  most  important  verbs  of  the  language. 

All  the  fundamental  rules  of  the  Italian  language  are  thoroughly 
studied,  and  practically  applied  in  translating  suitable  selections  from  the 
German  into  the  Italian,  and  vice  versa.     In  this,  special  attention  is  paid 


18 

to  the  Italian  syntax.  The  syntax  itself  is  treated  in  a  special  discussion 
and  illustrated  by  means  of  classical  selections  from  the  Italian  language, 
committed  to  memon,-.  From  this'time  on  the  students  attempt  to  express 
their  thoughts  orally  in  the  Italian  language,  paying  special  attention  to 
the  language  of  ordinary'  conversation,  commercial  terms  and  the  most 
important  business  correspondence  ;  letters  about  exchange  and  letters  of 
advice. 

In  addition  to  all  this  it  is  never  neglected  to  specif\^  to  the  students 
books  of  assistance  and  a  suitable  method  to  pursue,  which  will  enable 
them  successfully  to  continue  their  studies  in  the  Italian  language  without 
-assistance. 

Austrian  Regulations  in  Regard  to  the  Customs  and  State 
Monopolies  and  Details  of  Customs  Administrations. — The  bases 
of  the  lectures  are  : 

a.  Austrian  regulations  with  regard  to  customs  and  State  monopo- 
lies, especially  those  requirements  which  must  be  observed  in  import  and 
export  trade  with  foreign  countries. 

b.  The  general  Austro-Hungarian  customs-tariff  and  the  legal  require- 
ments which  it  is  necessarj^  to  observe  in  applying  the  tariff. 

c.  Special  directions  about  giving  credit  at  the  custom-house,  refund- 
ing duties,  liability  ;  authority  over  the  details  of  customs  administration. 

d.  Directions  in  regard  to  dutiable  commerce  on  railroads,  steamboats 
and  the  railway  postal  system. 

e.  The  form  of  bills  of  entry,  as  well  as  the  legal  punishments  for 
false  declarations. 

f.  The  commercial  and  customs  treaties,  which  are  made  between 
Austro-Hungary  and  foreign  countries,  and  which  are  of  special  advan- 
tage to  industry  and  commerce. 

Textbook  :  Franz  Holzer,  Praktische  Darstellung  der  osterreichischen 
ZoUordnung  u.  Zollmanipulation. 


B.     THREE-YEARS'  COURSE. 

POR     PUPILS     WHO    HAVE     FINISHED    THE    COURSE    IN     THE    LOWER    GVM- 
XASIIiM,   THE    REAL-GYMNASIUI\I    OR    THE    LOWER    REAL-SCHOOL. 

The  three-year  course  of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academj^  as  noted 
a])ove,  has  for  its  object  to  guarantee  to  the  students  (graduates  of  lower- 
gynniasium,  real- gymna.sinm  or  lower  real-.school )  who  wish  to  devote 
themselves  to  a  commercial  career,  that  higher  connnercial  ])rofessional 
education,  with  special  attention  to  general  educational  subjects,  which 
to-day  can  be  rightfully  demanded  of  every  merchant.  The  academy 
has  a  three-year  course  of  study,  and  each  year's  class  is  divided  into 
parallel  divisions  according  to  the  number  of  .students.  The  students 
receive  a  certificate  for  eacli  year  completed,  and  when  the}'  have 
finished  the  cour.se  they  have  the  privilege  of  the  one-year  voluntary 
service  law. 


19 

I.     COURSH  OF  STUDY. 

a.  Required  studies  : 

FIRST  YEAR'S  COURSH.  Hours  per  Week. 

German 3 

French 3 

English  or  Italian 3 

Commercial    Geography 2 

History 2 

Mathematics 4 

Commercial  Arithmetic 3 

Commercial  Knowledge  and  Work  in  the  Model  Office  .......  3 

Physics 3 

Natural  History    .    .                2 

Penmanship 2 

Total 30 

SKCOND  YKAR'S  COURSE 


Total 


THIRD    YEARS  COURSE. 


Total 


German 2 

French    ....        3 

English  or  Italian 3 

Commercial    Geography 2 

History 2 

INIathematics 2 

Commercial  Arithmetic 3 

PiOokkeeping 4 

Letter-writing 2 

Commercial  Law  and  Laws  Relating  to  Bills  of  Exchange 2 

Chemistry   and  Chemical   Terms 3 

Study  of  Products 2 


German 2 

French    .    .' 3 

English  or  Italian 3 

Commercial  Geography  and  Statistics 2 

General  and  Commercial  History  . 2 

Commercial  Arithmetic 3 

Political   Arithmetic 2 

International  Trade  and  its  Usages 2 

Model    Office 5 

Commercial   Law  and    Laws  Relating  to  Trade 2 

Political    Economy 3 

Study  of  Products 2 


31 


b.   Elective  studies  : 

Practical  work  in  the  chemical  laboratory  ; 

I'our  hours  per  week  for  the  second  and  third  years. 

Tuition. — Ten  florins  per  semester 
Practical  work  in  the  laboratory  for  study  of  products  : 

For  the  third  year  students. 

Tuition. — Five  florins  per  semester. 
Study  of  customs  laws  and  practical  work  in  details  of  customs  administratiou 

Fi)r  students  of  third  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Gratuitous. 
vStenograph}-  : 

In  two  one-year  courses,  each  two  hours  per  week. 

Gratuitous  for  all  students  of  the  academy. 


20 

II.     DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    SUBJECTS    OF    INSTRUCTION. 
First  Year's  Course  in  the  Academy. 

German.  —  Review  of  the  grammar,  prosody  and  metrics;  poetical 
etymolog}'.  Long  selections  for  reading  ;  analyzing  their  contents. 
Practice  in  declamation.  Every  two  weeks  a  composition  requiring  home 
and  school  preparation.     Three  hours  per  week. 

Frcfich. — Review  of  etymology  together  with  related  oral  and  written 
exercises,  dictations,  analytical  and  commentary  lectures.  Extension  of 
stock  of  phrases  and  vocabulary.  Every  two  weeks  alternating  home  and 
school  tasks.     Three  hours  per  week. 

lingUsh  or  Italian. — Study  of  pronunciation  and  inflection  in  sys- 
tematic succession.  The  etymology  and  sentences  from  the  syntax  which 
are  necessar}^  to  an  understanding  of  simple  selections  for  reading. 
Practice  in  pronunciation  and  etymology  by  dictation  and  simple  reading 
exercises.  Oral  and  written  exercises,  acquiring  of  a  suitable  stock  of 
phrases  and  words.  Every  two  weeks  alternating  home  and  school  tasks. 
Three  hours  per  week. 

Commercial  Geography. — A  clear  presentation  of  the  most  important 
ideas  of  mathematical  and  physical  geography,  especiall}-  those  ideas  which 
concern  the  mercantile  profession.  Commercial  geography  of  Austria, 
Hungary,  Germany,  Switzerland,  taking  up  their  geographical  situation, 
topographical  situation  and  configuration  of  the  different  countries,  climate, 
fertility  of  the  soil,  commercial  products,  where  and  how  they  occur,  con- 
dition of  population,  commercial  ability,  connnercial  language,  emigration 
and  immigration,  agriculture,  industrial,  commercial,  financial  and  trade 
systems  of  each  country.  Discussion  of  the  most  important  commercial 
cities,  seaports  and  manufacturing  centres  ;  trans-marine  means  of  com- 
munication, imports  and  exports.     Two  hours  per  week. 

History.  — General  view  of  the  principal  historical  events  of  the  world, 
with  special  attention  to  the  history  of  civilization.  History  of  the  Middle 
Ages  up  to  Charlemagne.     Two  hours  per  week. 

Mathematics. — Algebra  :  Review  of  the  four  fundamental  operations 
with  common  integers  ;  greatest  common  divi.sor  ;  least  common  multiple  ; 
common  fractions  ;  the  four  fundamental  operations  in  the  same.  Decimal 
num!)ers ;  decimal  fractions  ;  changing  connnon  fractions  into  decimal 
fractions  and  vice  versa. 

Powers  and  roots  :  surd,  imaginar^^  and  complex  numbers,  and  the 
four  fundamental  operations  in  the  same.  luiuations  of  the  first  degree 
containing  one  and  more  than  one  unknown  quantity  ;  exercises  in  the 
formation  of  such  equations.  ExercLscs  in  diophantinc  analysis  ;  rules 
of  alligation.  Theory  of  geometrical  proportions :  rule  of  division. 
Theory  of  quadratic  equations  with  one  unknown  quantity  ;  solution  of 
the  .same.  Exerci.ses  in  the  formation  of  such  equations  with  two 
unknown  cjuantities  whose  eliminating  equation  can  be  traced  back  to  a 
c|uadratic  e(iuatic)n. 

Geometry. — The  fundamental  ])rinci])les  and  most  important  propo- 
sitions of  planimetry,  paying  esjK-cial  attention  to  the  study  of  surface 
measurements.  The  fundamental  principles  and  most  important  propo- 
sitions of  stereometry'.  vSolid  bodies,  computing  the  surfaces  of  the  same. 
Every  two  weeks  tasks  set  for  home  work,  and  every  four  weeks  tasks  set 
for  school  work.      F'our  hours  per  week. 


21 

Commercial  AritliDictic. — Review  of  the  short  methods  of  multiplica- 
tion and  division.  The  most  iniportant  al)breviated  methods  of  calculation. 
The  measures  and  weights  used  in  the  mo.st  important  countries,  especially 
the  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures.  Rule  of  proportion  ;  chain 
rule;  percentage  and  its  application  (insurance,  commission,  brokerage); 
simple  interest,  di.scount  and  their  applications ;  interest  on  accounts 
current  in  its  different  methods. 

Commercial  K'noicledge  a)id  Accounting  Room  J I  'ork. — The  theoretical 
part  embraces  the  rules  of  commerce  in  general  and  its  branches  ;  the 
trades  directly  connected  with  commerce  and  its  auxiliary  in.stitutions  ; 
the  objects  of  commerce  and  their  classification  according  to  customary 
usage  ;  the  most  iniportant  facts  relating  to  weights  and  measures,  as  well 
as  the  science  of  money  and  exchange  ;  finally,  the  position  of  merchants 
in  relation  to  one  another  as  well  as  to  .society. 

The  practical  part  is  devoted  to  the  methods  of  preparing  notes, 
accounts,  invoices,  bills  of  sale,  bills  of  cost,  announcements  of  receipt 
of  goods,  exchange,  accounts-current,  etc.  ;  finally  the  different  methods 
of  bookkeeping  with  errors  in  quantity,  which  are  applied  exclusively  in 
a  business  period  of  one  month.     Three  hours  per  week. 

Physics. — Introduction,  general  characteristics,  forces  and  laws. 
Heat :  essence  of  the  same  and  its  .sources  ;  the  three  principal  modes  of 
diffusion  of  heat  and  their  application.  Magnetism. — Explanation  and 
fundamental  phenomena  ;  earth  magnetism ;  production  of  magnets, 
their  strength  and  application.  Electricity  and  effects  of  accumulated 
electricity  ;  origin  of  the  electrical  current ;  cables  and  batteries  ;  strength 
of  the  electrical  current  and  effects  of  the  same.  Principal  phenomena 
of  thermo-electricity,  thermo-electrical  columns,  and  their  use.  Acoustics: 
origin  of  .sound,  forms  of  the  .same  ;  tone,  musical  note,  pitch  of  tone, 
the  musical  .scale,  temperament,  most  important  sound-producers,  reson- 
ance, loudness  of  a  .sound,  tran.smission  of  .sound.  Mechanics.  —  {a)  Laws 
of  equilibrium  ;  centre  of  gravity  ;  modes  of  rest ;  active  and  passive 
resistance  ;  simple  machines  and  their  uses.  Laws  of  motion,  of  percus- 
sion, of  freely  falling  bodies,  of  projectiles,  of  pendulums  ;  centre  of 
motion,  {b)  Fundamental  characteristics  of  liquids  ;  laws  of  equal  trans- 
mission of  pressure,  of  pressure  on  the  bottom  and  side-pressure  ;  of 
connnunication  and  its  use.  Law  of  Archimedes  ;  laws  of  the  rapidity 
of  discharge  and  quantity  discharged,  (r)  Fundamental  characteristics 
of  ga.ses  ;  atmo.spheric  pressure  and  its  uses  ;  Mariotte's  laws  ;  diffusion  .• 
absorption  ;  endosmosis  of  gases  ;  motion  of  gases  and  its  use. 

Natural  History. — Natural  history  of  the  three  kingdoms,  with 
special  attention  to  such  portions  as  are  necessary  to  enable  one  to  recog- 
nize and  test  the  raw  material  of  the  world's  commerce.  Two  hours  per 
week. 

Penmanship. — German,  English  and  French  handwriting.  Two  hours 
per  week. 

Second  Year's  Course  in  the  Academy. 

German. — The  .study  of  the  forms  of  poetry  in  connection  with  the 
selections  for  reading.  Most  important  works  of  German  literature  up  to 
Gottsched's  death.  Practice  in  reading  and  speaking.  Every  three 
weeks  a  written  composition  composed  alternately  at  home  and  school. 
Two  hours  per  week. 


22 

French.  — The  most  important  rules  of  sjaitax,  together  with  the  oral 
and  written  exercises  belonging  thereto.  Readings,  explanations  and 
memorizing  business  letters.  Easy  compositions  and  business  letters, 
modeled  after  the  previously  explained  selections.  Increasing  the  stock 
of  phrases  and  the  vocabulary.  Ever}^  three  weeks  set  tasks  assigned  to 
be  done  alternately  at  home  and  at  school.     Three  hours  per  week. 

English  or  Italian. — Review  and  a  further  study  of  the  etymolog}"  : 
thorough  treatment  of  syntax,  together  with  the  oral  and  written  exer- 
cises belonging  thereto.  Readings  in  narrative,  descriptive  and  epistolar>- 
prose,  this  last  with  special  attention  to  a  business  style.  Instruction 
introductory  to  the  composition  of  simple  business  letters.  Increase  of 
the  stock  of  phrases  and  words.  Practice  in  talking.  Work  assigned  to 
be  done  alternately  at  home  and  school  every  three  weeks.  Three  hours 
per  week. 

Commercial  Geography . — Commercial  geography  of  Holland,  the  three- 
Scandinavian  kingdoms,  England,  Belgium,  France,  Spain,  Portugal, 
Italy  (including  their  colonies).  Details  as  in  the  first  year.  Three 
hours  per  week. 

History. — History  of  the  Middle  Ages  since  Charlemagne,  and  modern 
history  to  the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  with  history  in  detail  of  Austro- 
Hungary.     Two  hours  per  week. 

Mathematics. — Algebra  :  Logarithms,  use  of  logarithmic  tables,  solu- 
tion of  .simple  exponential  equations.  Arithmetical  and  geometrical 
progression. 

Geometry. — Computation  of  the  contents  of  solids.  Ev-ery  two  weeks 
a  task  assigned  to  be  done  at  home  ;  every  four  w^eeks  a  similar  task 
assigned  to  be  done  at  school.     Three  hours  per  week. 

Commercial  Arithmetic. — Computation  of  gold,  silver  and  coin  ;  com- 
putation of  exchange  according  to  Vienna  custom  ;  computation  of  stocks, 
bonds,  etc.,  according  to  the  manner  of  the  different  countries,  giving 
special  attention  to  those  cities  which  quote  Austro- Hungarian  paper. 
Three  hours  per  week. 

Bookkeeping . — Instruction  as  to  the  manner  of  making  out  different 
bookkeeping  forms,  showing  mistakes  as  to  quantity  and  value.  Book- 
ing of  business  transactions,  mercantile,  bank  and  commission  business, 
covering  a  period  of  several  months.  These  are  booked  according  to  the 
different  methods,  and  all  letters  and  counting-room  memoranda  are  care- 
fully studied.      Four  hours  per  week. 

Correspondence. — Letters  relating  to  mercantile,  consignment  and  com- 
mission business  ;  letters  relating  to  insurance  and  forwarding  affairs, 
making  over  notes,  attachments,  descriptions  of  goods,  price-current, 
market  and  weekly  reports.  Letters  relating  to  exchange,  drawing  bills 
of  exchange  on  one's  own  and  another's  account,  transmitting  drafts  for 
acceptance,  disposition  of  bills  payable,  remittances  of  money  and  bills, 
process  of  protesting,  collateral  acceptance,  account  of  re-exchanges,  com- 
mission business  in  notes,  bills,  etc.,  lost  bill  of  exchange,  bills  of 
exchange  and  sending  coin,  payments,  bank-note,  treasury  bill,  notes  on 
mortgage  banks,  checks,  abatements,  transfers  ;  letters  relating  to  part- 
nership and  l)ank  business  ;  letters  of  inquiry,  of  notice  and  dunning 
letters  ;  circular  letters  ;  letters  of  credit,  written  offers,  adverti.sements, 
contracts,  power  of  attorney  ;  letters  on  affairs  in  law  and  bankruptcy. 
Two  hours  per  week. 


23 

L,AWS    RELATING    TO   UlL,h   TRANSACTIONS    AND   TO   COMMERCE. 
/.  Lazes  Relathii^  to  Bills  of  Excha^igc. 

a.  Introduction:  Technical  side  of  banking  and  exchange  ;  explana- 
tion of  technical  expressions  ;  sketch  of  the  history  of  exchange,  and  of 
the  laws  relating  thereto. 

b.  Code  Relating  to  Bills  of  li^xchange  :  The  right  to  sign  l^ills  of 
exchange  ;  drawn  bills  of  exchange  (drafts) ;  requirements  for  the  same  ; 
duty  of  the  drawer  ;  endorsement ;  presentation  for  acceptance  ;  accept- 
ance ;  claims  against  the  security  ;  discharging  a  bill  obligation  ;  recourse 
in  case  of  non-paj'ment  ;  honor  acceptance  Tcollateral  acceptance) ;  dupli- 
cate bills  ;  copies  of  bills  ;  mislaid  bills  ;  counterfeit  bills  ;  prescription 
of  bills  ;  right  to  bring  action  on  part  of  the  creditor  ;  requirements  of 
protest ;  time  and  place  for  the  various  transactions  in  commercial  bills, 
insufficient  signatures  ;  relation  to  foreign  laws  ;  bills  drawn  on  one's  self. 
Special  care  is  taken  to  illustrate  the  existing  laws  relating  to  bills  of 
exchange  by  means  of  practical  cases  taken  from  every-day  commerce. 

c.  Regulations  Relating  to  Stamping  Bills. 

d.  Fundamental  laws  of  legal  processes  concerning  bills  of  exchange. 
Difference  between  the  recent  Hungarian  and  Austrian  laws  relating  to 
bills  of  exchange. 

//.    Commercial  Lazv. 

Introduction  :  The  necessary  elementary  economical  ideas,  especially 
the  concept  of  property,  economy,  commerce,  products,  merchant,  history 
of  the  commercial  law  of  Au.stria,  the  origin  of  a  common  German  com- 
mercial code.  Commercial  code.  Facts  pertaining  to  the  profession  of 
merchants  ;  what  constitutes  a  merchant,  and  the  branches  into  which 
merchants  are  divided  ;  commercial  register  ;  commercial  records  ;  author- 
ized agents  and  managers  ;  as.sistants  ;  brokers.     Two  hours  per  week. 

Chemistry. — First  semester,  Inorganic  Chemistry  ;  second  semester. 
Organic  Chemistry.  General  view  of  the  most  important  elements  and 
their  combinations,  devoting  as  little  time  as  possible  to  the  purel}-  theo- 
retical, but  giving  special  attention  to  those  elements  and  their  combina- 
tions, which  have  an  extensive  application  in  practical  life.  Three  hours 
per  week. 

Practical  Exercises  in  the  Chemical  Laboratory. — The  participants  in 
these  exercises  are  instructed  in  qualitative  chemical  analysis  during  the 
first  year  ;  in  the  second  year  quantitative  analysis  (atomic  weights  and 
measures).  The  aim  of  the  first  year's  instruction  is  to  secure  exactness 
in  the  qualitative  analysis  of  the  most  important  minerals  and  inorganic 
commercial  products. 

Study  of   Commercial  Products. — Introduction.      Classification. 

a.  Inorganic  (mineral),  products.  Gems,  material  for  sculptors, 
carvers  (meerschaum),  grinders  and  polishers.  Fuels  irom  fossilized 
matter  and  similar  products  (Phytogeny),  metallic  products  produced 
mechanically. 

b.  Organic  products.  Explanation  of  the  methods  of  mvestigatiou. 
Microscopy  ;  vegetable  material  ;  organic  (possessing  structure).  Entire 
plants  and  their  parts,  as  leaves,  tops,  fiowers,  fruit  and  seeds  (.starch, 
dextrin,  sugar,  woods);  bark,  fibre  (spun  fabrics,  woven  fabrics,  paper): 
paying  attention  to  their  use  as  foods,  drinks,  spices,  coloring  matter,  and 
matter  containing  tanning  material  or  other  material  used  m  the  arts. 
Two  hours  per  week. 


24 

Third  Year's  Course  of  the  Academy. 

German. — Readings  and  explanations  of  certain  selections  from  the 
pi.ncipal  poetical  and  prose  works  of  our  classical  and  modern  poets 
in  connection  with  literary  and  biographical  sketches.  Exercises  in 
deliven,-.  Once  in  four  weeks  a  written  composition.  Two  hours  per 
^veek. 

French. — Extending  and  supplementing  the  s^mtactical  knowledge. 
Brief  review  of  the  entire  grammar,  partl}^  in  the  French  language. 
Readings  from  the  best  specimens  of  French  prose  and  poetry,  with  state- 
ment of  contents  and  explanations  in  French.  Memorizing  model  busi- 
ness letters  and  reading  selections.  Composition  of  business  letters  and 
comparatively  long,  independent  essays.  Ever>-  three  weeks  alternate 
home  and  school  tasks  are  assigned.     Three  hours  per  week. 

English  or  Italian. — Brief  review  of  the  entire  grammar,  parti}'  in 
Hnglish  (or  Italian).  Readings  from  standard  selections  of  prose  and 
poetrv',  with  statement  of  contents  and  explanations  in  English  (or 
Italian) .  Memorizing  of  business  letters  and  certain  model  literary  selec- 
tions. Practice  in  writing  business  letters  and  independent  compositions. 
Alternate  home  and  school  tasks  every  three  weeks.  Three  hours  per 
week. 

Commercial  Geography  and  Statistics. — Commercial  geography  of 
Turkey  and  the  Levant,  of  Russia,  of  the  United  States  of  America,  of 
Mexico,  of  Brazil,  of  the  States  of  the  La  Plata,  of  Chili,  of  China  and 
Japan.      (Details  as  in  the  first  year's  course.) 

Geographical  statistical  survey  of  the  world's  commerce  and  its 
principal  routes  at  the  present  time.     Two  hours  per  week. 

General  and  Co77imercial  History . — Historv'  of  the  European  countries 
from  1648  to  the  present.  Commercial  history  from  the  earliest  times  to 
the  present.     Two  hours  per  week. 

Commercial  Arithmetic. — Computation  of  commercial  paper  of  the 
most  important  European  and  transmarine  centres  of  commerce,  arbi- 
tration, bills  of  exchange,  .stocks,  etc.  Review  of  the  entire  subject. 
Three  hours  per  week. 

Political  Arithmetic. — Compound  interest  and  computation  of  incomes 
from  funded  property.  Introduction  to  the  calculation  of  loans  ;  con- 
.struction  of  sinking-fund  plans  ;  lottery  loans  ;  the  elements  of  the  compu- 
tation of  probabilities  ;  computation  of  life  annuities,  and  claims  on  estates 
in  expectancy.  Income  from  life  insurance  (widows'  pensions)  ;  insurance 
of  capital.     Two  hours  per  week. 

KnOiL'ledge  of  International  Commerce. — The  Produce  Exchanges, 
their  origin,  divisions  and  organization  ;  produce  broker ;  legitimate 
■exchange  business  and  the  exchange  boards  of  arliitration.  The  systems 
of  weights  and  measures  used  in  international  commerce  and  trade  ;  the 
•laws  regulating  the  system  of  weights  and  measures  ;  the  metric,  Ivnglish. 
Russian  and  Chinese  systems  ot  weights  and  measures,  and  their  position 
in  the  world's  conunerce.  Condition  ot  weights  and  measures  in  the 
■Orient.  Measure  of  quality  u.sed  in  the  international  grain  trade  ;  measure 
of  quality  u.sed  in  the  international  yarn  and  silk  trade  (yarn  numbering 
and  silk  titration) ;  determination  of  quantity  in  the  .spirit  trade  ;  units  of 
measurements  ;  the  condition  of  money  standard,  and  tlie  quotation  of 
bills  of  exchange  and  currency  quotations  of  the  most  imjiortant  transma- 
ruarine  cities. 


2;j 

FORWAKDINVi    GOODS    IN    INTKRNATIONAL   TKADK. 

a.  Raihvays  and  River  Boats.— ^\\^  rules  of  inaiiaj^emeiit  ;  railroad 
rates  ;  method  ot  fixing-  the  tariiT  on  goods  ;  classification  of  goods  in 
Austro-Hiingary,  Germany  and  France;  international  alliances;  inter- 
national service  and  the  various  papers  relating  thereto. 

b.  Sea  Navigation. — Registration  ;  measuring  and  classification  of 
merchant  vessels  ;  the  manifest  book  and  bill  of  lading  ;  the  consign- 
ment ;  the  charter  party  ;  tonnage  of  ships  ;  fixing  tariffs  on  goods  ;  the 
steamship  societies  which  are  important  for  Austro-Hungary,  their  lines 
and  tariffs  ;  the  most  important  facts  relating  to  mercantile  insurance. 

Ordinary  conditions  of  sale  ;  price  quotations  of  the  most  important 
articles  in  international  trade,  namely:  grain,  flour,  oil-grain  (linseed), 
spirits,  petroleum,  cotton,  coffee  and  sugar.  Explanation  and  computa- 
tion of  equivalent  prices  on  the  basis  of  the  quotations  on  the  world's 
market,  and  the  construction  of  tables  of  equivalent  prices.  Deductions 
on  exports  and  imports,  illustrated  by  a  series  of  examples  taken  from 
actual  practice. 

Accounting  and  Corn'spo)idcnce  {Model  Counting  Room). — Complete 
execution  of  a  set  of  books  in  mercantile,  commission,  forwarding, 
manufacturing  and  banking  business.  Bookkeeping  in  stock  companies, 
together  with  all  necessary  vouchers ;  comparative  bookkeeping  espe- 
cially in  respect  to  mistakes  in  quantity  and  value.  Five  hours  per 
week. 

La'ivs  Relating  to  Conuncrce  and  Industrv. — Continuation  of  commer- 
cial law,  partnerships  in  commercial  law,  the  study  of  partnerships  (open 
commercial  partnerships,  limited  partnerships,  limited  joint  stock  compan- 
ies, stock  companies,  limited  liability  partnerships,  joint  partnerships). 
The  theory  of  mercantile  trade  and  at  the  same  time  a  discussion  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  civil  rights,  especially  the  rules  for  winding  up 
a  business  and  for  .settling  commercial  transactions  ;  of  giving  .securities, 
e.specially  a  mortgage  or  lien.  Further,  the  study  of  indor.sable  paper  ; 
purchasing ;  commission  ;  forwarding  and  freight  business  (the  last,  in 
general,  but  specially  with  respect  to  railways) . 

2.  The  Regulation,  relating  to  trade,  of  Dec.  lo,  1859,  together  with 
all  additions.  Law  relating  to  charters  ;  law  protecting  trade-marks  and 
patents  ;  law  relating  to  peddlers  ;  laws  relating  to  chambers  of  commerce, 
also  mercantile  agents  ;  law  concerning  industrial  and  co-operative  socie- 
ties ;  laws  and  regulations  concerning  dealing  in  promissory  notes  ;  and 
warehouse  laws. 

3.  General  rules  relating  to  insolvency  proceedings,  and  especially 
the  theory  of  mercantile  insolvency  and  compulsory  settlement  voted  by 
a  majority  of  creditors.     Two  hours  per  week. 

Political  Economy .  —  YLisiory  of   the   systems  of  political   economy. 
Importance  of  the  same  and  explanation  of  their  fundamental  principles. 
The  production  of  wealth  : 

a.  In  general  ; 

b.  Factors  in  production  (nature,  labor,  capital)  ; 

c.  Co-operation  of  the  factors  in  production. 
The  distribution  of  wealth  • 

a.  Inequality  of  the  di.stribution  (socialism,  comnuniism)  ; 

b.  Income  and  its  sources  (rent,  wages,  niterest). 
Circulation  of  wealth 


26 

a.  In  general  (Exchange  value  and  price)  ; 

b.  Money,  the  mone}'  standard  ; 

c.  Credit  and  its  aids  (bills,  checks,  mone^'-orders,  paper  money; ; 

different  kinds  of  banks,  clearing-houses  ; 

d.  Means  of  transportation. 

Consumption  of  wealth.      Luxury.      Influence  of   government    on 
the  national  economy  : 

a.  Means  for  furthering  production  in  general,  the  question  of 

associations  ; 

b.  Various  forms  of  production  ;    mining,  smelting,  agriculture,. 

tree    culture,    manufacturing,    factor}-    laws,     commerce,, 
railroad  and  custom  questions  ; 

c.  Population  and  care  of  the  poor  ; 

d.  Taxes  and  national  debt,  especially  the  theory  and  history  of 

financial  crises.     Three  hours  per  week. 

STUDY   OF   PRODUCTS. 

I.  Vegetable  substances  (without  structure) ;  gum,  rosins,  balsams, 
volatile  oils,  fats,  waxes,  vegetable  milk  and  extracts. 

II.  Animal  substances  :  whole  animals  ;  milk  and  its  products  ;  hide 
and  its  parts  (leather,  hair  [as  animal  covering]  in  comparison  with  silk, 
articles  spun  and  woven  from  hair,  wool,  etc.,  feathers,  scales,  horn,  tor- 
toise shell,  whalebone) ;  bones,  (glue  in  comparison  with  isinglass)  ; 
tusks,  (ivory  tusks  of  the  walrus,  hippopotamus  and  narwhal)  ;  fat  and 
its  products,  (soap)  ;  the  substances  produced  and  secreted  in  the  animal 
body  or  substances  out  of  which  other  products  are  made  (musk,  amber- 
gris, castoreum,  civet,  silk,  w-ax,  guano,  honey) ;  pearls  and  mother-of- 
pearl,  corals,  sponges. 

The  material  above  sketched  is  treated  on  a  strictly  scientific  basis, 
having  regard  to  the  practical  use  to  be  made  of  the  knowledge  thus 
acquired,  and  the  characteristics  of  the  most  important  objects  in  the 
world's  commerce  and  in  local  trade  are  discussed  in  a  comparative  manner 
by  inspection  of  the  natural  products,  by  the  aid  of  table  work,  and  micro- 
scopical preparations.     Two  hours  per  week. 

C.    PREPARATORY    CLASS. 

In  order  to  make  it  possible  for  those  pupils  to  attend  the  academy 
who  have  not  taken  the  studies  required  for  entrance  to  the  three-years' 
course,  the  Imperial  Ministry  for  Religion  and  In.struction  has  permitted 
a  preparatory  cla.ss  to  be  organized  in  connection  with  the  Commercial 
Academy,  which  has,  however,  the  character  of  a  private  course.  Accord- 
ing to  the  decree  of  the  Imperial  Ministry  for  Religion  and  Instruction 
of  July,  1877  iZ.  10194),  every  pupil  who  has  passed  his  thirteenth  l)irtli- 
day  may  be  admitted  to  this  i)re])aratory  class,  if  the  managers  of  the 
Commercial  Academy  find  him  to  be  proi)erly  qualified. 

The  pupils  of  the  preparatory'  class  receive  no  certificate,  but  at  the 
close  of  the  .second  .semester  they  mu.st  pass  the  examination  required  for 
entrance  to  the  first  year's  cour.se  of  the  Commercial  Academy.  The 
pupils  receive  from  the  managers  of  the  academy  a  statement  of  the  result 
of  this  examination. 


1 


I 


27 

ROSTER-  Hours  per  Week. 

Gennan  5 

French    4 

Geography 3 

History  ...  3 

Common  and  Special  Arithmetic 5 

Physics  3 

Natural  History 3 

Penmanship      2 

Total 28 

DISTRIBUTION   OF   THE   SUBJECTS   OF   INSTRUCTION. 

Gcrtnaii. — Recapittilation  of  the  grammar  (inflection,  parts  of  speech, 
formation  of  words,  syntax) ;  orthography  and  punctuation.  Compositions 
on  the  most  important  events  at  school  and  on  a  ftittire  career  ;  theory  of 
style.  Exercises  in  reading  and  declamation  ;  grammatical  and  exegetical 
explanation  of  the  selections  read.  Every  two  weeks  a  school  task  is 
assigned,  and  every  three  weeks  a  home  task.  Discussion  and  criticism 
of  the  latter.     Five  hotirs  a  week. 

French. — Elementary  grammar.  Dictations  and  readings.  Acquiring 
of  an  adequate  stock  of  words  and  phrases.  Home  and  school  tasks 
alternating  everj^  two  weeks.     Four  hours  per  week. 

Geography. — Main  features  of  general  geography  of  the  five  conti- 
nents, based  on  a  careftil  study  of  the  maps.     Three  hours  per  week. 

History. — First  semester.  Sketches  from  the  history  of  their  own 
country  from  its  beginning  to  the  close  of  the  Wars  of  Independence. 
Second  semester.  Narrations  from  the  life  of  the  people  of  ancient 
times,  with  special  reference  to  the  legendary  history  of  the  Greeks. 
Three  hours  per  week. 

Mathematics. — Particular  arithmetic.  Explanation  of  the  decimal 
system  of  numbers.  The  four  fttndamental  operations  in  integers  and 
decimal  fractions,  with  the  use  of  practical  applications  of  short  methods. 
Short  methods  of  multiplication  and  division.  Divisibility  of  ntimbers  ; 
greatest  common  divisor  ;  least  common  multiple  ;  common  fractions  ;  and 
computation  with  the  same.  Geometrical  relations  and  proportions,  and 
their  applications  to  problems  of  practical  life.  Chainnile.  Algebra.  The 
idea  of  common  ntimbers,  and  their  relation  to  one  another.  Positive 
and  negative  numbers.  The  four  fiuidamental  operations  with  universal, 
whole  and  fractional  numbers.  Eqtiations  of  the  first  degree  having  one 
unknown  quantity.  Every  two  weeks  a  home  task  ;  every  fotir  weeks  a 
school  task.     Five  hours  per  week. 

Physics. — Introduction.  Resultant  of  several  forces.  Cohesion. 
Electricity.  Magnetism.  Acoustics.  Statics  and  dynamics  of  solids, 
liqtiids  and  gases.     Optics.     Three  hours  per  week. 

Natural  History. — General  natural  history  of  the  three  kingdoms. 
Three  hours  per  week. 

Penmanship. — The  ordinary  German  and  English  hand.  Two  hours 
per  week. 

We  turn  now  to  the  collections  of  the  academy,  and  to  those  institutes 
which  were  established  in  order  to  supplement  the  theoretical  instrtiction 
by  practical  exercises  and  thus  to  render  more  easy  the  passage  of  the 
pupils  of  the  school  into  practical  life. 

a.  Collection  of  Coins. 


28 

This  collection  was  begun  upon  the  initiative  of  the  present  director 
and  contains  all  the  current  coins,  domestic  and  foreign,  arranged  by 
States.     It  is  a  great  aid  to  instruction  in  mercantile  subjects. 

b.  Physical  Laboratory-. 

Instruction  in  physics  is  given  in  a  special  room  assigned  for  this 
purpose.  The  apparatus  belonging  to  the  physical  laboratory  has  cost, 
up  to  the  present,  over  6000  florins,  and  includes  the  most  necessar>' 
instruments  for  purposes  of  experimentation  and  illustration. 

c.  Chemical  lyaboratory. 

Chemistry  and  the  knowledge  of  commercial  products  open  to  the 
pupils  an  understanding  of  the  technico-commercial  branches.  On  this 
account  great  emphasis  has  been  laid  on  this  study  from  the  beginning  of 
the  academ}',  owing  to  its  relation  to  the  manufacturing  classes.  The 
chemical  laboratory'  has  been  several  times  enlarged,  and  includes  not 
only  lecture  rooms,  but  also  several  working  rooms  which  have  all  the 
equipment  necessary  for  accurate  organic  analyses.  The  laboratory-  has  a 
large  special  library  and  a  rich  collection  of  preparations  and  apparatus 
which  are  used  for  illustration  in  the  lectures.  It  not  only  affords  the 
pupils  means  for  practical  work,  but  also  an  opportunity  to  the  director 
of  the  laboratorj^  for  original  investigation  in  every  direction.  The  prac- 
tical exercises  are  attended  yearly  by  from  twent)'  to  twenty-five  pupils. 

The  origin  of  the  collection  of  commercial  products  dates  from  the 
first  years  of  the  academy.  There  was  also  a  natural  histor>-  collection 
corresponding  to  the  wants  of  the  preparatory  classes  of  that  period.  Both 
collections  were  annually  increased,  but  remained  entirely  separate  until 
instruction  in  these  two  departments  was  entrusted  to  the  same  professor, 
when  the  collections  were  united.  The  instruction  in  commercial  products 
was  greatly  expanded  by  the  introduction  of  practical  exercises.  These 
exercises  are  attended  by  pupils  of  all  three  classes  and  of  the  graduate 
course  also.  They  take  place  in  a  .special  laboratory  for  the  testing  of 
connnercial  products,  which  is  well  equipped  with  the  necessary  apparatus, 
including  microscopes,  saccharometres,  etc. 

The  comljined  collections  for  natural  histor*-  and  commercial  products 
are  divided  into  three  groups  :  the  collections  for  instruction  in  natural 
histor>'  and  commercial  products  ;  second,  the  collection  for  practical  work 
in  the  commercial  product  laboratory  (reports  are  made  each  year  from 
tliese  practical  exercises),  and  third,  the  museum  of  products. 

This  museum  was  begun  at  the  initiative  of  the  present  director  in  the 
year  1885.  It  is  located  in  the  large  hall,  second  story  front,  and  in  the 
room  immediately  connected  witli  it.  The  museum  has  a  double  purpose  : 
to  aid  instruction  in  commercial  products  in  the  academy,  and  to  promote 
a  general  knowledge  of  such  products  in  the  public  at  large.  The  collec- 
tion is,  therefore,  open  not  only  to  pupils,  but  also  to  the  general  public. 
The  specialty  of  this  museum  is  the  collection  of  adulterations  of  products, 
and  it  is  not  impossible  that  a  considerable  influence  may  be  exercised 
from  this  laboratory  upon  the  trade  in  adulterated  products.  The  museum 
of  products  embraces  about  4000  numbers  and  thirty  groups.  For  the 
completion  of  the  same  the  Administrative  Council  has  given  1000  florins 
a  year  for  the  ])ast  three  years. 

It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  in  the  program  (jf  instruction  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  connnercial  products  belongs  a  .sy.stem  of  visits  to  collections  and 


29 

factories,  which  the  pupils  make  under  the  ti^uidance  of  instructors.  All 
the  pupils  of  the  academy  take  part  in  those  excursions  which  occur  in 
VieiHia,  but  in  the  lonj;  trip  which  is  made  each  year  at  Kaster  time,  and 
which  extended  in  18S7  to  Strasbourg,  a  limited  number  of  pupils  only 
can  be  included. 

d.  Geographical  Cabinet. 

This  cabinet  is  one  of  the  most  comprehensive  in  this  special  depart- 
ment. It  includes  170  wall  maps,  and  a  large  collection  of  casts  and 
representations  of  geographical  and  ethnographical  objects. 

c.   Collection  to  Illustrate  the  History  of  Art. 

This  collection  has  just  been  begun  ;  its  function  is  to  supplement 
instruction  in  histor>'  and  the  history  of  literature,  in  order  to  compensate 
as  far  as  possible  for  the  rather  meagre  number  of  hours  assigned  to  these 
subjects  in  the  program. 

/.   lyibrary. 

The  collection  of  books  at  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academj"-  embraced, 
at  the  close  of  the  school  year  1886-87,  5298  volumes.  It  is  divided  into 
two  divisions,  the  professional  library  for  the  pupils,  and  the  general 
library.  The  latter  includes  important  collections  used  as  reference 
libraries  in  the  individual  departments  of  instruction.  The  professional 
library  for  pupils  was  established  in  order  to  give  them  the  necessary  aids 
for  further  study,  and  for  the  essays  which  they  must  prepare.  All  works 
of  merely  amusing  or  entertaining  character  are  excluded  from  this 
collection. 

The  Traveling  Scholarship  Fund. 

The  intermediate  school  has  completed  its  function  at  the  time  when 
it  gives  the  graduate  his  final  certificate.  But  the  professional  school 
cannot  avoid  extending  its  work  beyond  this  period,  and  serving  as  an 
organ  of  communication  between  the  }-oung  men  who  have  completed  its 
curricuhnn  and  those  people  who  desire  young  men  with  such  training. 
In  this  respect  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy  has  from  the  beginning 
done  everything  it  could,  and  it  has  been  in  the  happy  situation  of  being 
able  to  secure  for  its  graduates  good  positions  not  only  at  home,  but  also 
abroad.  This  last  circumstance  is  of  great  importance  to  the  foreign 
commerce  of  our  countrj'.  Ever  since  the  daj's  of  Maria  Theresa  complaints 
have  been  made  continually  that  the  monarchy  has  had  very  few  national 
commercial  houses  in  foreign  countries,  and  yet  these  are  the  chief  means 
of  enlarging  the  economic  territory  of  the  State.  To  obtain  these,  however, 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  citizens  of  the  country  enter  business  in 
foreign  ports,  and  thus  learn  to  know  foreign. countries  thoroughly.  Now 
there  are  probal^ly  many  young  men  who  possess  the  necessary  training, 
but  oftentimes  they  are  not  \\\  the  place  where  they  are  most  necessary, 
and  still  oftener  are  not  in  a  social  position  to  learn  commercial  centres  in 
every  detail  and  to  exercise  an  active  influence  in  favor  of  the  national 
trade. 

In  order  to  assist  young  merchants,  who  have  had  a  certain  practical 
experience,  to  make  a  careful  study  of  foreign  centres  of  trade,  the 
present  director  of  the  academy  proposed  in  a  general  assembly  of  the 
association  of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy,  held  on  December  S, 
1885,  the  establishment  of  a  special  traveling  scholarship  fund.  This 
proposition    was    received    yvith    warm     approval.     His    Majesty,     the 


30 

Bmperor,  gave  the  first  subscription  of  5000  florins  to  this  fund.  His 
example  was  followed  by  Prince  John,  of  lyiechtenstein,  and  a  number 
of  prominent  merchants  and  manufacturers  and  various  commercial 
institutes.  The  director  succeeded  in  raising  for  this  purpose  the  sum  of 
60,000  florins.  The  list  of  the  various  subscribers  and  the  regulations 
for  the  scholarships  are  to  be  found  in  the  report  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  Administrative  Council,  made  December  12,  1886.  In  April,  1887, 
the  Administrative  Council  decided  to  assign  two  scholarships  of  the 
value  of  1 500  florins  each  ;  one  to  Salonichi  and  one  for  Barcelona.  In 
September,  1887,  both  were  assigned.  The  conditions  of  these  scholar- 
ships are  :  completion  of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy  with  distinc- 
tion, and  at  least  three  years  successful  practical  work  at  home  and  abroad. 

It  remains  now,  in  order  to  complete  this  account,  to  give  some  of 
the  more  important  data  relating  to  the  school.  The  total  attendance  at 
the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy,  since  its  establishment  in  1858  to  the 
j-ear  188S,  inclusive,  was  16,906  students.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  how 
many  students  have  completed  the  course  of  study  and  obtained  the 
certificate  of  graduation.  It  appears  that  in  the  first  period,  1858  to 
1872,  there  were  1714  graduates  ;  second  period,  1873  to  1877,  there  were 
1262  graduates;  third  period,  1878  to  1888,  there  were  2168  graduates, 
making  a  total  of  5144  in  the  thirty  j-ears  of  the  life  of  the  academy. 
The  success  of  the  instruction  has  been  a  very  satisfactory  one,  and  in 
this  connection  it  is  important  to  note  that  the  report  of  the  management 
to  the  Ministry  of  Education,  rendered  each  j^ear  since  the  beginning  of 
the  third  period,  has  been  uniformly  accepted  as  eminently  satisfactory. 

The  graduates  of  the  academy  have  always  found  emplo3'ment  ver\' 
quickl)',  whether  at  home  or  abroad.  Former  students  of  the  academy 
are  to  be  found  in  all  the  larger  centres  of  trade  in  German}',  Switzerland, 
France,  England  and  Belgium,  as  well  as  in  the  leading  States  of  North 
and  South  America.  At  the  present  time  there  are  forty  foundations  or 
scholarships  established  by  the  founders,  in  accordance  with  the  provision 
noted  above.  There  is  one  Imperial  scholarship  of  a  3'early  value  of  300 
florins,  and  two  scholarships  named  after  Czedik  of  126  florins  each. 
The  Assi.stance  Fund,  established  for  worthy  poor  students,  amounted  on 
the  fifteenth  of  June,  1887,  to  7,061.73  florins,  and  aid  was  granted  in  the 
school  year  1887  ;  in  cash,  to  the  extent  of  683. 1 1  florins  ;  in  paper,  pencils, 
etc.,  to  the  extent  of  246  florins;  in  textbooks,  to  the  extent  of  290.63 
florins  ;  in  traveling  expenses,  to  the  extent  of  370  florins.  The  students 
contributed  to  this  fund  920.25  florins.  The  president  of  the  society  for 
assisting  poor  .students,  which  has  charge  of  the  fund,  is  the  director  of 
the  academy,  r.v  of/icio.  The  Ivxecutive  Committee  consists  of  two 
professors,  chosen  by  the  instructing  l)ody  and  a  general  conuiiittee  of  two 
from  each  division  cliosen  l)y  the  students. 

The  association  of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy  had  received, 
from  its  foundation  \\\)  to  1887,  from  its  members  contributions  to  the 
amount  of  530,642.22  florins;  of  this  amount  the  State  granted  40,950 
florins,  the  city  of  Vienna  31,500  florins.  The  vState  made  its  appropria- 
tion in  the  form  of  establishing,  through  the  Ministry  of  Religion  and 
Instruction  and  the  Ministry  of  Finance,  one  .scholarsliip  (3150  florins) 
a  year,  for  a  series  of  years.  In  consccjuence,  the  Ministry  for  Religion 
and  Instruction  controls  at  present  seven  .sch()l;u'shii)s,  and  the  Ministry 
of  Finance  six. 


31 

Of  this  amount,  452,110.15  florins  were  used  for  the  purchase  of  the 
ground  and  the  erection  of  the  building  of  the  academy,  and  to  cover  the 
deficit  of  the  early  years,  including  also  27,000  florins  assigned  to  the 
pension  fund  established  in  1873.  The  rest  of  the  sum  constitutes  the 
academy  fund,  which,  according  to  the  balance  of  the  thirty-first  of 
August,  1S86,  amounted  to  159,693.80  florins.* 

The  current  expen.ses  of  the  academy  since  its  establishment  amount 
to  nearly  two  million  florins  and  was  covered  entirely  by  the  tuition  of 
pupils.  The  income  of  the  institution  from  tuition  and  incidental  fees 
from  1878  to  1887  amounted  to  nearly  900,000  florins. 

The  Administrative  Council  of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy  has, 
however,  uniformly  observed  the  principle  that  the  worthy  pupil,  though 
poor,  .should  be  enabled  to  attend  this  .school.  It  grants,  therefore,  every 
school  year  to  a  considerable  number  of  pupils  either  entire  or  partial 
remission  of  tuition.  These  remissions  represented  down  to  the  thirty- 
first  of  August,  1887,  the  considerable  sum  of  280,485  florins. 

The  preliminary  budget  for  the  year  1886  showed  the  following 
estimate  : 

Florins. 

Salaries 5S.985 

Adniini.stratioii 6,000 

General  expenses 13,200 

Pension 4,145 

Incidentals 3.950 

Total 87,280 

The  Vienna  Commercial  Academy  po.s.sesses,  since  1873,  its  own 
pension  fund,  which  is  managed  by  a  separate  committee.  To  this  fund 
the  regularly  appointed  professors  contribute  the  same  rates  as  in  the  case 
of  public  educational  institutions,  as  the  provisions  adopted  by  the  State 
for  similar  pensions  have  been  accepted  as  the  rule  for  this  fund.  Besides 
this,  the  General  Assembly  grants  yearly  a  ver}-  considerable  sum  to  this 
fund  from  its  surplus  income.  On  the  thirty-first  of  August,  1886,  this 
fund  amounted  to  144,314.46  florins,  and  the  pensions  payable  amounted 
to  4074.96  florins.  In  the  General  Assembly  of  December  12,  1886,  5000 
florins  were  granted  to  this  fund. 

The  Vienna  Commercial  Acadeni}-  is  located  in  its  own  Iniilding, 
which  was  formally  opened  on  the  twelfth  of  October,  1S62.  It  embraces 
an  area  of  1953  square  metres.  Its  principal  front  is  sixty  metres  long  ; 
its  two  side  fronts  thirty-one  metres  each.  The  building  is  two  stories 
high.  It  co.st,  as  noted  above,  452,110.15  florins.  As  divided  at  present, 
it  embraces  fifteen  lecture  rooms,  the  mu.seum  of  commercial  products, 
the  laboratories  for  chemistry  and  commercial  products,  the  physical, 
geographical  and  natural  history  halls,  two  libraries,  two  faculty  rooms, 
the  ofirce  of  the  management  and  various  small  offices,  and  the  residence 
of  the  director  and  three  .servants,  and  has  accommodation  for  800  students. 
The  arrangements  for  heat  are  .so  fixed  that  the  vestibules,  the  great  stair- 
way and  the  large  corridors  are  warmed  throughout.  W'ater  is  also 
furni.shed  throughout  the  building.  The  heating  costs  per  year  from  1400 
to  1500  florins  ;  gas  from  1600  to  1700  florins. 

We  might  finally  mention  that  the  \'ienna  Commercial  Academy  has 
the  largest  attendance  of  similar  commercial  schools  in  Austria,  Germany 

*  The  thirtieth  of  September.  1877.  at  the  beginning- of  the  third  period,  there  was  still  a  mort- 
gage upon  the  academy  building  of  15,000  florins,  and  uo  cash  fund. 


32 

and  France,  and  that  of  late  years  the  management  has  been  repeatedly- 
requested  to  give  detailed  information  to  foreign  governments  as  to  the 
arrangements  and  organization  of  this  school.  The  school  also  received 
the  highest  distinction  at  the  Vienna  World's  Fair  in  the  year  1873. 

LATER  STATISTICS. 
Certain    facts   relating   to  the  attendance  at  the  various  courses  will 
undoubtedly  be  of  interest  in  this  connection. 

The  one-year  course  for  graduates  of  the  gymnasia  and  real  schools  had 
an  enrollment  in  1889  of  115  pupils,  1890  of  105  pupils,  1891  of  115  pupils. 
Of  these  there  were  : 

Catholics.          Protestants.  Greeks.  Jews.  Total. 

In  1SS9 47                       12  6  50  115 

In  1890  .........        44                      10  2  49  105 

In  1891 39                     13  7  56  115 

XG-B,  OF  STUDENTS. 

.\ge.  18S0.  1890.  1801 

i'6 —  —  I 

17 —  —  19 

18 10  12  30 

19 I"  19  15 

20 34  27  17 

21 24  II  13 

22 10  I-^  10 

23 S  6  3 

24 4  4  .     — 

25  and  over 8  13  7 

Students  came  from  all  the  leading  provinces  of  Austria  and  eleven 
of  them  from  foreign  countries. 

In  1889,  seventy-three  of  the  .students  were  Germans,  twenty-two  of 
the  -Students  were  Poles,  eleven  of  the  students  were  Hungarians,  and  the 
others  of  various  other  nationalities.  The  other  two  3'ears  do  not  show 
any  considerable  variation  from  this  year. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  large  majority  of  the  students  were  in  these 
years  over  eighteen  and  in  the  first  two  years  over  half  were  over  twent}-. 

THREE-YE.VR    COURSE    IX    THE    ACADEMY. 

Number  in  classes  : 

I'Mrst  Class.  Second  Class.  Third  Class  Total. 

1889 275          210          176  661 

1890 264          225           182  671 

1891 230           220          188  638 

In  1889  there  were  661  pupils  on  the  rolls  at  the  end  of  the  yenr  ;  in 

1890  there    were    671    pupils  on    the  rolls    at  the  end    of  the  year;  in 

1891  there  were  638  pupils  on  the  rolls  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
Ot  these  there  were — 

Catholics.  Protestant-^.  f.reeks.  Jews.          fnclassed. 

In  1889 310        30  10       311       I 

In  1890 305        33  17       315 

In  1891 283       43  n  301 

Age  1889.  1890.  1S91. 

14 24  20  II 

15 116  112  78 

16 161  183  T87 

17 178  178  171 

iS 116  120  130 

19 47  50  45 

20 J5  5  M 

21 3  3  2 

22 1  —  — 


33 

During  these  three  years  only  one  student  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
third  year  of  the  course  at  an  age  less  than  sixteen  ;  and  only  one  student 
had  succeeded  in  reaching  the  second-year's  course  at  an  age  less  than' 
fifteen.  Only  one-fifth  of  the  students  in  the  academy  in  1889  were  under 
sixteen  years  of  age  ;  about  the  same  ratio  held  for  1890,  and  in  1891 
less  than  one-seventh  were  under  sixteen.  The  average  age  of  the  pupils 
appears  then  to  be  from  sixteen  to  nineteen. 

The  association  for  aiding  indigent  and  worthy  students  .seems  to  do 
very  real  sersdce. 

In  1889  it  granted  922  florins  in  cash  to  various  students  ;  270  florins 
in  supplies  ;  218  florins  in  books  ;  500  florins  in  traveling  expenses. 

The  association  granted  in  1890  to  various  .students,  898  florins  in. 
cash  ;  302  florins  in  supplies  ;  117  florins  in  books  ;  400  florins  in  travel- 
ing expenses. 

The  association  granted  in  iSgi  to  various  students,  1041  florins  in 
cash  ;  270  florins  in  supplies  ;  119  florins  in  books  ;  502  florins  in  travel- 
ing expenses. 

FACULTY. 
Director  :  Subjects : 

Dr.  Rudolf  vSoniulorfer Political    Arithmetic   and    Inteniational 

Trade. 
Professors : 
Ileinrich  Binn Mercantile  Arithmetic,  International 

Trade  and  Office  Work. 
Eduard  Bittner Commercial     Arithmetic,     International 

Trade  and  Office  Work. 

Dr.  Max  Borowsky Physics. 

Dr.  Theodor  Cicalek German,    Commercial     Geography    and 

Statistics. 

Karl  Engelhard Stenography. 

Dr.  Otto  Frauckel Commercial  Law. 

Eduard  Hanausek Stud)^  of  Products,  Natural  Historv. 

Johann  Hann IMathematics,  Political  Arithmetic. 

Dr.  Karl  Hassack Natural  History. 

Paul  Hertzog French. 

Charles  Hurt English. 

Rudolf  Kathreiu IMercantile  Arithmetic. 

Anton  Kleibel Bookkeeping  and  Correspondence. 

Dr.  Richard  Mayr (icrman  and  History. 

Dr.  jur  Robert  Meyer Political  Economy. 

Dr.  Karl  Rauscli , German  and  History. 

Camillo  Sandre I'rench. 

Rudolf  Schiller Mercantile  Arithmetic  and  Bookkeeping. 

Adrian  Schuster Bookkeeping  and  Correspondence. 

Nicolaus  Teclu Chemistry. 

Dr.  Theodor  Theumann Commercial  Law. 

Dr.  Philipp  Zamboni Italian. 

Dr.  Karl  Zehden Commercial  Geography  and  Statistics. 

Instructors  : 

Dr.  Thomas  Fr.  Hanausek Study  of  Products. 

Karl  Hessler Insurance. 

Franz  Holzer Insurance  Tariff. 

.Assistants  : 

Leopold  Bageard      French. 

Dr.  Julius  Dostal      German. 

Florence  Henry  Hedley English. 

Dr.  Georg  Karschulin German  and  Commercial  Geography. 

Julius  Melnitzkv      Penmanship. 

Karl  Miiller Mathematics. 

Dr.  Julius  Ritter  Roschmann  von  Horburg    .  Political  Economy. 

3 


34 

Sub-Assistauts  :  Subjects: 

Heinrich  Eisenkolb Commercial  Subjects. 

Karl  Kunczitzky  .    .  Stenograph}-. 

Making  a  total  of  one  director,  twenty-three  professors,  three  instructors,  seven 
assistants,  two  sub-assistants  ;  total  thirty-six. 

2.     COHMERCIAL  ACADEMY  OF  PRAGUE. 

The  Foundation  of  the  Institution."^ — It  is  a  strange  fact  that  the  verj- 
class  which  occupies  to-day  by  its  activity  and  wealth  the  most  prominent 
place  in  our  society,  has  been  neglected  almost  altogether  by  the  govern- 
ments of  the  various  States  in  regard  to  the  professional  training  of  its 
members.  There  are  gynmasia  for  the  training  of  the  future  scholar  and 
public  official,  and  Real  schools  and  polytechnic  institutions  for  the  tech- 
nologist. The  forester,  the  miner,  the  soldier,  the  sailor,  all  have  their 
own  technical  schools,  but  the  future  merchant  has  had  to  content  himself 
with  the  gymnasium  or  the  Real  school.  Was  the  reason  for  this  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  merchant  needs  no  special  preliminary  training 
for  his  calling  ?  That  the  special  branches  of  knowledge  appropriate  to 
his  vocation  are  really  only  facilities  which  the  school  is  not  able  to  give 
him  ;  things  of  subordinate  importance  which  he  can  easily  acquire  for 
himself  by  private  activity  and  practical  work  ?  It  would  almost  seem  so, 
and  it  may  be  that  this  view  was  not  unjustifiable  i!i  earlier  times,  but  the 
present  makes  new  demands  upon  the  merchant  if  he  wishes  to  rise  above 
the  limited  sphere  of  the  small  shopkeeper.  He  needs  a  greater  amount 
of  training  and  knowledge  if  he  is  to  keep  pace  with  the  times,  and  to 
occupy  that  place  in  social  and  economic  life  to  which  he  is  entitled.  But 
where  shall  he  obtain  this  training  ? 

There  is  no  doubt  that  existing  educational  institutions  are  not 
adequate  to  supply  this  want.  The  solid  training  of  the  gymnasium  has  its 
great  advantages,  and  many  a  merchant  of  to-day  selects  his  assistants 
rather  from  the  ranks  of  the  graduates  of  the  gymnasium  than  from  those 
of  the  real  schools.  But  the  gymnasium  cannot,  of  course,  insert  the 
purely  commercial  branches  of  instruction  into  its  curriculum,  and,  con- 
.sequently,  it  does  not  appear  to  be  at  all  satisfactory  as  a  special  prepara- 
tory school  for  the  commercial  career.  The  real  schools  would  seem  to  be 
.somewhat  nearer,  but  these  schools  furnish  a  training  more  suitable  for 
the  manufacturer  and  the  technologist  than  for  the  merchant,  and  until 
very  lately,  especially  in  Austria,  they  excluded  from  these  schools  the 
important  element  of  modern  languages.  The  purely  commercial 
i^ranches  also  are  either  very  inadequately,  or  are  not  at  all  represented 
in  their  curriculinu.  The  attempt  has  been  made  here  and  there  to  unite 
.special  commercial  courses  with  the  real  schools.  But  this  is  only  piece- 
work, and  can  be  justified  only  where  it  is  impossible  to  establish  inde- 
pendent commercial  .schools.  For  the  place  of  the  professional  school 
cannot  be  even  approximately  .supplied  in  this  way. 

At  the  time  when  the  thoug'lit  of  the  establishment  of  the  commer- 
cial school  appeared  for  the  fir.st  time  in  Prague,  the  various  public  educa- 
tional institutions  were  far  le.ss  perfect  than  to-day.  Tlie  inisatisfactory 
condition  of  tilings  liad  been  recognized  fir.st  in  Germany,  and  it  was  the 
L,eii)7,ig  Merchant  Guild  which  took  the  fir.st  steji  toward  the  remedy.  It 
e.stabli.slied  in  the  year   1.S31   a  commercial  institute,  wliose  organization 

*  cp.  Die  Praefy  ffandflsakadrmif  von  ihrer  Grundnno;  his  zur  Gegemuart  iS,^6- i8jj)  dedcnk- 
uhtifl  aus  Atilass  drt    unrni'r   Wrlln uKt.-lUmjr.     p.  4  and  following. 


35 

by  Schiebe  remained  for  a  long  time  in  a  certain  sense  the  model  for  the 
similar  establisliments  organized  later  throughout  central  Germany. 

About  the  same  time  the  need  for  a  special  commercial  school  was 
felt  in  Prague.  Mr.  Johann  Bachheibl,  a  member  of  the  Commercial 
Council  from  1831  to  1840,  was  the  first  to  take  up  the  matter,  and  to 
urge  upon  his  colleagues  the  desirability  of  such  an  establishment.  But 
many  hindrances,  especially  the  unfavorable  conditions  of  the  time, 
])revented  them  from  carrying  out  the  idea.  It  was  not  until  the  year 
1S49  that  the  first  real  step  toward  such  an  institution  was  taken. 

The  president  of  the  Commercial  Council  in  tliat  year,  Mr.  Josef 
Halla,  and  a  member  of  the  corporation,  Mr.  Kdward  Pleschner,  took  up 
the  idea  with  energ}^  for  the  need  of  such  an  institution  was  more  and 
more  keenly  felt  every  day.  The  Commercial  Council  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  obtain  the  necessary  financial  means,  and  in  March,  1849,  the 
committee  published  the  following  address  to  the  merchants  of  Bohemia  : 

"The  establishment  of  a  commercial  school  in  the  capital  city  of 
Bohemia,  a  land  where  such  a  many-sided  industry  and  trade  floujish, 
has  been  a  long  felt  want.  But  it  was  not  possible,  under  previous  con- 
ditions, to  establish  this  institute  .so  necessary  and  advantageous  for  our 
youth.  It  remains  further  our  honorable  task  by  uniting  all  the  necessary 
intelligent  and  pecuniary  means  to  establish  and  develop  a  commercial 
institute.  It  appears  superfluous  to  dwell  upon  the  advantage  of  such, 
an  institution.  Every  one  of  us  recognizes  how  necessar}'-  to  our  pros- 
])erity  is  the  regular  and  systematic  training  of  our  youth.  We  have 
lieen  obliged  up  to  the  present  to  seek  such  a  training  for  our  sons  in  foreign 
countries,  at  tlie  cost  of  much  money  and  great  anxiety.  In  the  future  we 
should  find  this  at  home.  We  all  recognize,  moreover,  how  greatly  such 
a  theoretical  course  would  aid  our  j-oung  people  when  they  go  into  prac- 
tical life,  and  how  much  more  useful  they  are  to  us  when  they  have 
enjoj-ed  the  training  of  such  an  institution.  The  Commercial  Council, 
inspired  with  this  conviction,  has,  therefore,  resolved  to  establish  such  an 
institution.  It  proposes  to  cover  the  expenses  in  part  by  the  use  of  its 
own  capital,  and  in  part  by  the  contributions  of  founding  and  contributing 
members.  We  send,  therefore,  an  earnest  invitation  to  all  members  of 
the  commercial  and  manufacturing  classes  of  Bohemia  to  assist  in  the 
establishment  of  this  useful  institution,  and  by  co-operative  effort  to  leave 
this  honorable  memorial  to  our  posterity.  The  Commercial  Council  has 
appointed  a  committee,  which  is  not  only  to  take  charge  of  the  new 
school,  but  to  work  out  a  curricidum  upon  the  plan  of  the  best  existing 
commercial  schools.  The  council  has  resolved  further  to  make  provision 
so  that  the  apprentices  in  our  shops,  who  are  not  able  to  enter  the  school 
regularl}',  may  obtain  instruction  in  the  practical  knowledge  relating  to 
commerce  from  the  teachers  in  this  institute.  In  this  arrangement  we 
rely  upon  the  humanity  of  our  colleagues  to  assist  us  by  .sending  regu- 
larly their  a]iprentices,  and  prove  in  this  way  that  they,  as  well  as  we, 
desire  the  training  of  useful  and  skillful  clerks,  and  that  in  this  way  the 
value  of  this  .sort  of  instruction  may  be  fully  recognized." 

In  answer  to  this  invitation  12,000  florins  were  .subscribed  within  a 
short  time.  As  this  sum,  however,  was  not  sufficient  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  higher  commercial  institute,  the  council  resolved  to  organize 
a  Sunday-school  for  commercial  branches.  Steps  were  immediately  taken 
to  carr\'  this  resolution  into  effect.     The  school  was  opened  on  the  nine- 


36 

teenth  of  April,  1850,  on  the  birthday  of  the  emperor.  Rooms  were 
obtained  for  it  in  the  Pol3'technic  Institute. 

This  Sundaj- school,  however,  was  intended  onlj^  as  a  transition 
institute  to  the  higher  commercial  school  which  was  the  end  and  aim  of 
the  eflforts  of  the  council.  The  year  185 1  brought  a  decisive  turn  in 
favor  of  the  establishment  of  such  an  institution.  In  that  j-ear  a  man 
was  chosen  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Commercial  Council  who  possessed 
in  himself  all  the  qualities  which  were  necessary  to  secure  the  realization 
of  the  plan  above  mentioned. 

Mr.  Edward  Pleschner,  the  new  president,  devoted  his  attention  in  the 
first  place  to  increasing  the  endowment  fund,  and  to  overcoming  the  pre- 
judices and  objections  against  the  proj  ect,  which  showed  themselves  here  and 
there.  His  eflforts  were  soon  crowned  with  success.  The  fund  was  increased 
by  June,  1853,  to  34,398  florins;  by  the  3^ear  1855  the  fund  had  reached 
44,21 1  florins.    The  necessary  financial  means  had  thus  been  provided  for. 

There  were  manj^  different  views  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
project  should  be  carried  out.  Some  favored  the  acquisition  of  a  separate 
school  building  and  the  union  of  the  Sunday-school  with  the  proposed 
academy.  Others  proposed  that  the  Sunday-school  for  commercial 
branches  should  be  expanded  so  that  instruction  should  be  given  on  one 
week-da}-,  and  that  this  should  be  gradualh'  extended  b}^  the  addition  of 
new  subjects  of  instruction.  A  third  party,  under  the  lead  of  the  presi- 
dent, wished  to  establish  an  independent  higher  commercial  school,  and 
this  view  was  finally  adopted.  On  the  eighteenth  of  October  a  final 
decision  was  made,  and  the  Commercial  Council  unanimous!}'  voted  for 
the  establishment  of  the  independent  commercial  institute. 

The  next  effort  of  the  council  was  devoted  to  the  acquisition  of  a 
building,  which  was  purchased  shortly  after  for  the  sum  of  58,542  florins. 
On  the  thirteenth  of  December,  1855,  the  council  held  its  first  meeting  in 
the  halls  of  the  .school. 

On  the  third  of  October  preceding,  the  council  had  presented  a 
petition  to  Count  Leo  Luhn,  Minister  of  Religion  and  Education,  in 
which  they  expressed  the  conviction  that  the  commercial  classes,  on 
account  of  the  important  position  which  they  occupied  from  an  economic 
and  social  point  of  view  among  the  other  clas.ses  in  society,  needed  not 
only  thorough  professional  knowledge,  but  also  a  higher  general  training, 
and  asked  that  the  minister  might  permit  the  Commercial  Council  to 
establish  within  the  walls  of  Prague  a  new  kind  of  institute,  the  like  of 
which  had  not  yet  been  established  in  Au.stria. 

The  proposed  curriculum  included  in  the  memorial  emljracecl  the 
following  subjects  : 

1  German  languaj^e  and  literature. 

2  French,  I^nj^lisli  anrl  Italian. 

3  Mathematics  and  connnercial  arithmetic. 

4  Commercial  and  maritime  law,  and  the  law  relating  to  promissory  notes. 

5  Political  economy. 

6  Geography,  history  and  statistics. 

7  Natural  history  and  physics. 

8  Chemistry. 

9  Drawing  and  penmanship. 

ID  Practical  h<jokkee])ing  and  correspondence. 

In  order  that,  as  the  memorial  .states,  the  pupil  may  be  ready  imme- 
diately ujK)!!  leaving  the  academy  to  enter  practical  commercial  work. 


37 

Until  the  permission  of  the  government  was  obtained,  the  committee 
occupied  itself  with  the  necessary  preparations.  It  issued  a  circular  letter 
to  business  men  and  manufacturers  of  Bohemia,  in  which  it  requested  the 
donation  of  suitable  material  for  the  museums  and  other  collections. 
From  all  parts  of  the  country  specimens  of  raw  materials  and  manu- 
factures of  ever>'  sort,  natural  history  specimens  and  books  poured  in  in 
such  quantities  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  similar  wealth  of  col- 
lections in  any  other  German  commercial  school. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  1856,  the  committee  received  permission  to 
proceed  with  the  opening  and  organization  of  the  school,  and  the  time  for 
opening  the  school  was  set  for  the  autumn  of  1856.  After  the  election  of 
Mr.  Karl  Arenz,  of  Dusseldorf,  as  director  of  the  institute,  it  was  opened 
in  a  formal  manner  on  the  fourth  of  October,  1856.  The  following 
quotations  from  the  inaugural  address  of  the  director  are  of  general 
interest : 

"  The  commercial  schools  are  a  product  of  this  century.  The  only 
one  whose  existence  dates  back  into  the  preceding  century  is  that  of 
Biisch,  the  father  of  German  commercial  schools,  which  had  been  founded 
by  him  in  Hamburg  in  1768,  under  the  name  of  '  Commercial  Academy.' 
The  school  disappeared  later,  leaving  nothing  behind  it  but  the  grateful 
recollection  of  its  honorable  foundation  and  its  meritorious  work.  The 
commercial  schools  of  to-day  nearly  all  started  about  the  same  time,  and 
are  of  the  same  general  character.  Schiebe  pointed  out  the  way  in  which 
they  all  thought  they  could  prepare  for  the  active  career  of  the  merchant. 
But  the  question  as  to  how  far  these  institutions  were  and  are  adapted  to 
answer  to  the  mighty  advance  of  our  material  interests  is  a  question 
which  we  cannot  further  investigate  on  this  occasion.  For  it  is  our  duty 
to-day  to  consider  this  new  institution  whose  opening  we  celebrate. 

"  If  we  ask  for  the  reasons  which  have  called  it  into  existence,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  find  them.  In  the  time  of  a  growing  tendenc}^  toward  the 
independence  of  every  individual  and  every  class,  the  necessit}-  of  the 
declaration  of  independence  on  the  part  of  educational  institutions  which 
ser\'e  the  various  practical  needs  of  modern  life  becomes  evident.  Com- 
mercial institutions  belong  in  the  same  categor}^  with  the  technical  insti- 
tutions, in  so  far  as  they  have  the  common  purpose  of  promoting  in  the 
first  instance  the  development  of  our  material  welfare,  but  they  are 
distinguished  from  these  by  certain  internal  qualities,  by  the  fundamental 
principles  underlying  their  foundation.  In  the  case  of  the  former  it  is 
the  mathematical  and  natural  science  training  through  which  the  technical 
training  is  accomplished.  In  the  case  of  the  latter,  on  the  contrary,  the 
thread  which  runs  through  the  curricuhnn,  co-ordinating  and  iniiting  its 
various  parts,  is  not  higher  mathematics,  is  not  natural  science,  but  is 
that  thorough  general  culture  which  embraces  a  complex  of  general  social 
knowledge  and  experience  relating  to  the  knowledge  of  the  earth,  relating 
to  the  economic  nature  of  its  inhabitants  and  to  one's  native  country. 
The  necessity  and  justification  of  the  existence  of  commercial  schools, 
which  met  so  many  objections  in  everj'  quarter,  and  which,  indeed,  have 
given  rise  to  most  serious  criticisms,  are  to  be  found  in  the  necessity  of  the 
higher  scientific  training  of  the  merchant.  This  appears  more  and  more 
imperative  every  day,  as  this  alone  qualifies  him  to  work  in  the  different 
branches  of  trade  and  commerce  with  such  foresight  and  certainty  as  is 
rendered  necessary  by  the  advance  of  our  social  relations. 


38 

' '  The  commercial  schools  must  answer  these  demands.  To  use  an 
expression  of  the  elder  Blanqui,  the  organizer  of  the  oldest  and  most 
important  commercial  school  in  France  :  '  They  must  organize  our  trade 
and  commerce  by  training  and  instruction.' 

' '  I  have  already  said  that  for  a  long  time  the  most  severe  criticisms 
were  made  upon  these  commercial  schools,  and  ^-et  this  has  not  prevented 
their  growth  and  development.  Men  were  not  willing  to  grant  them  an 
independent  standing,  and  yet  they  gave  them  a  certain  place  in  tlie 
polytechnic  school.  This  declaration  of  dependence  was  the  first  step 
toward  independence.  For  experience  has  shown  that  this  union  of  a 
commercial  division  with  a  polytechnic  school  was  an  unequal  one,  and 
very  disadvantageous  for  commercial  instruction.  For,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  natural  centre  of  gravity  of  commercial  instruction  is  not  to  be  found 
in  such  a  union,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  never  been  able  to»secure, 
in  such  a  combination,  equal  recognition  wdth  the  other  faculties  of  the 
polytechnic  school.  This  explains  the  unsatisfactory  results  of  such  com- 
mercial courses  both  from  a  statistical  and  scientific  standpoint.  The 
union  of  technical  and  commercial  courses  leads,  moreover,  to  what  is, 
from  a  pedagogical  point  of  view%  a  wrong  treatment  of  the  pupils,  and 
this  is  the  moral  ground  which  compels  us  to  urge  a  separation  of  the 
commercial  schools  from  the  technical  institutions,  and  an  independent 
organization  of  the  former.  The  technical  institutes  accomplish  excellent 
results  in  their  own  sphere,  but  the  ver>'  excellence  of  this  work  means 
injur}'  to  the  commercial  side. 

"The  merchant,  since  he  belongs  to  the  higher  classes  of  society, 
must  receive  such  a  training  in  the  school  as  will  fit  him  to  maintain  his 
position.  This  school  must  be  for  him  a  technical  or  professional  training 
school.  It  stands  in  the  midst  among  all  the  other  technical  and  proies- 
sional  schools,  and  utilizes  them  all.  It  has  peculiar  characteristics  of  its 
own,  and  must,  therefore,  be  independent.  I  will  not,  however,  dwell 
further  upon  this  point  of  the  independence  of  commercial  schools,  for 
fear  of  exposing  myself  to  the  same  ridicule  as  the  learned  scholar  who 
wished  to  lecture  to  Hannibal  upon  the  art  of  war. 

"Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  organization  of  commercial 
schools.  If  we  wish  for  success,  the  plan  of  organization  must  not  be  a 
rigid  one.  It  must  not  be  for  the  school  an  iron  frame  which  shall  hold 
it  within  unchangeable  limits.  On  the  contrar}-,  it  nuist  have  regard  to 
the  very  life  of  the  institution  itself,  and  must  correspond  to  the  demands 
of  the  ever  advancing  development  of  trade  and  industry'. 

"  If  we  consider  the  organization  of  the  curriculum  which  our  scheme 
has  accepted  as  the  basis  of  the  higher  training  of  the  merchant,  its  funda- 
mental principle  appears  to  be  the  greatest  possible  thoroughness,  and 
continual  reference  to  its  practical  applicability.  The  theoretical  and 
practical  .sciences  must  aid  and  supplement  one  another.  The  first  formu- 
late general  laws  ;  the  latter  teach  their  application  to  given  material. 
To  go  from  theory  down  to  practice,  and  to  rise  from  practice  to  theor>-, 
is,  and  must  be,  the  leading  principle  in  the  organization  of  the  com- 
mercial .school.  It  will  draw  everything  into  the  circle  of  its  activity  ;  it 
will  tend  to  fit  the  merchant  to  occupy  the  position  with  honor  and  success 
in  which  he  has  been  placed  by  the  relations  of  modern  society.  To  limit 
the  education  of  the  merchant  to  that  <|uantity  of  knowledge  known  in 
ordinary  life  as  mercantile  would  be  to  mi.stake  his  i)resent  po.sition  and 


39 

his  far-reaching  circle  of  activity.  The  merchant  is,  to  use  the  expression 
which  the  municipaHty  of  Mons  employed  in  an  address  to  the  King  of 
Belgium,  on  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  constitution  in  July,  1856: 
'  He  is,  so  to  speak,  tlie  industrial  centre  into  which  all  the  threads  run, 
and  in  which  social  relations  cross  each  other  and  unite ;  into  which  they 
lead  ;  from  which  they  again  run  out  in  order  to  establish  new  com- 
binations, which  again  find  their  connnon  point  in  this  industrial  centre. ' 

"  The  merchant  must  have  a  broad  view.  He  must  be  trained  to  be 
at  home  in  all  relations,  for  his  activity  is  au  ever-changing  one  ;  it  knows 
neither  time  nor  place  ;  it  enlivens,  moves  and  supports  the  material 
interests  of  society.  Commerce  embraces  in  its  giant  arms  the  whole 
world,  and  forces  it  to  put  all  its  powers  at  its  disposal.  It  unites  by  the 
stroke  of  the  pen  all  the  countries  of  the  world. 

"The  educational  institution,  therefore,  which  is  destined  to  work 
out  the  higher  training  of  the  merchant,  must,  above  all,  take  into  the 
circle  of  its  consideration  everything  which  can  be  made  useful  for  its  pur- 
pose, and  this  it  can  do  if  a  reasonable  pedagogical  plan  be  followed  in  the 
division  and  distribution  of  its  subjects  of  instruction,  and  if  we  do  not 
lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  various  sciences  are  not  to  be  treated  sepa- 
rately as  in  the  various  special  and  technical  schools,  and  are  not  to  be 
taught  for  their  own  sake.  For  it  is  perfectly'  plain  that  we  can  accomplish 
nothing  in  any  science,  which  the  higher  commercial  .school  takes  up,  if 
it  is  to  be  taught  for  itself  alone.  In  technical  schools,  academies  and 
other  higher  professional  in.stitutions,  the  particular  branches  of  science 
and  the  manner  in  which  thej^  are  to  be  taught  and  utilized  are  determined 
and  conditioned  by  the  purpose  in  view.  I  need  only  mention  chemistry, 
mechanics  and  other  practical  sciences. 

' '  Although  it  is  true  that  the  merchant  can  never  be  entirely  separated 
from  the  manufacturer,  and  that  the  one  activity  continually  runs  into  the 
other,  yet  it  cannot  be  our  purpose  to  make  of  the  merchant  a  technically 
trained  manufacturer,  a  scientific  technologist.  Thej'  go  together,  it  is 
true,  but  they  are  not  identical,  the  polytechnic  trains  the  latter,  the 
higher  connnercial  school  the  former,  and  we  must  leave  to  each  institu- 
tion its  peculiar  work.  The  scheme  of  in.struction  which  is  to  trai)> 
merchants  must  be  an  associative  one  ;  it  mu.st  know  how  to  present  in  a 
clear  light  that  which  is  relative,  in  its  relative  relations  ;  it  must  know 
how  to  create  a  whole  out  of  the  manifold  elements  in  its  curriculum.  It 
must  form  an  organism  ;  for  the  life  of  the  educational  system  mu.st  be 
organic.  In  it  all  the  various  means  of  education  must  work  toward  a 
unity  of  result,  and,  therefore,  the  mnin  thing  in  the  commercial  school  is 
the  unity  of  its  curriculum.  This  attempt  to  .secure  a  unity  by  the  com- 
bination of  many  different  elements  has  not  always  been  successful.  It  is, 
however,  the  fundamental  thought  of  this  in.stitution. 

"We  have  included  in  our  curriculum  three  classes  of  educational 
branches  :  First,  the  really  technical  or  professional  ;  second,  those  which 
may  be  included  under  the  head  of  applied  sciences  ;  and  third,  the  purely 
general  or  liberal  elements.  I  need  not  dwell  upon  the  first,  for  that  is 
the  narrowly  technical,  the  so-called  mercantile  training,  but  this  will 
become  a  mere  dead  routine  if  it  is  not  .supported,  .supplemented  and 
enlivened  at  every  point  by  science.  Clearness  of  vision  and  thorough 
self-control,  the  fundamental  characteristics  of  the  merchant,  can  only  be 
acquired  by  science  ;  ju.st  as  a  wealth  of  vision,  freshness,  vividness  are  to 


40 

be  obtained  for  science  only  from  life  itself.  The  real  specific  activity  of 
the  merchant  is  concerned  with  office  duty,  with  the  handling  of  products, 
•and  with  the  direction  of  commerce  and  trade.  The  knowledge  of  products 
considered  as  the  combination  of  various  kinds  of  knowledge  necessarj^ 
in  dealing  with  commercial  products  is  based  upon  natural  histor>^  and 
chemistn,-,  which  play  such  an  important  part  in  the  physiology'  of  animals 
and  plants,  and  has  made  modern  mineralogy-  large!}'  a  chemical  science. 
These  two  subjects  are  necessary  as  a  means  of  recognizing  products  and 
of  judging  of  their  genuineness  and  adulteration.  Technology-  is  also  an 
auxiliary-  science  in  the  knowledge  of  products,  for  this  teaches  the 
merchant  something  in  regard  to  the  varioiis  branches  of  mantifacture — 
spinning,  weaving,  etc.  The  knowledge  of  simple  machines  belongs  also 
to  this  department.  The  limits  of  instruction  in  these  subjects  must  be 
set  by  the  extent  of  those  products  the  knowledge  of  which  is  abso- 
lutely necessary-  to  the  merchant,  and  that  instruction  in  this  field  must  relate 
primaril}-  to  domestic,  raw  and  manufactured  products  is  a  matter  of  course. 

"  Another  side  of  the  mercantile  training  which  is  intimately  related 
to  that  just  discussed  is  the  gedgraphico-statistical.  Geography  and 
statistics  are  the  basis  of  exchange  in  commodities.  The  branches  which 
assist  in  directing  the  course  of  commerce  are  histon,'  of  commerce,  which 
teaches  one  the  course  of  human  civilization  ;  and,  political  economy' 
based  on  this  branch  and  on  geography  and  statistics.  To  the  narrowly 
mercantile  training  belongs  also  skill  in  arithmetic  and  in  the  various  prac- 
tical work  belonging  to  the  office  in  its  various  relations,  also  in  the 
•  usages  of  trade  and  in  commercial  legislation,  as  well  as  fluenc)^  in  the 
use  of  modern  languages  so  far  as  they  are  commercial  languages.  This 
side  of  the  training  of  the  merchant  must  also  have  its  centre  of  gravity 
or  point  of  combination,  and  this  may  be  found  in  a  model  office,  imitat- 
ing an  actual  office  ;  the  value  of  which,  however,  it  must  be  admitted,  is 
often  called  into  question.  It  is,  however,  in  my  opinion,  so  to  speak,  the 
laboratory  of  the  future  merchant,  which  at  present  is  lacking  in  most 
German  commercial  schools,  and  which  we  must  organize  here. 

"  But  besides  this  specifically  technical  training  the  institution  must 
also  afford  its  pupils  a  patriotic  and  moral  training  ;  a  training  of  the 
character,  for  the  future  position  of  our  pupils  demands  more  than  an 
exclu.sively  professional  education,  and  nothing  is  more  suitable  to  throw 
into  their  true  light  the  well-known  socialistic  and  communistic  vagaries 
than  correct  conceptions  of  religion,  patrioti.sm,  history,  political  economy, 
and  law.  One's  character  gains  in  firmness  by  a  consideration  of  the 
truths  of  .science  ;  that  indifference  which  so  often  forces  intellectual  and 
material  interests  into  the  liackground  and  favors  the  development  of 
moral  and  political  weakness,  must  yield  to  determination  and  moral 
power.  If  we  leave  no  intellectual  power  of  the  youth  undeveloped, 
we  may  hope  on  the  one  hand  that  the  pupil  during  his  residence  in 
this  institution  will  gain  besides  the  necessary  knowledge  for  his  future 
calling,  that  enthusiasm  for  the  practical  work  within  it  which  will  be  a 
great  source  of  encouragement  during  all  his  future  life  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand  tliat  this  enthusiasm  will  ser\'e  as  the  ba.sis  of  a  view  of  life  which 
will  maintain  for  the  youth  during  his  manhood  an  open  eye  and  a  ready 
hand  to  aid  and  assist  the  great  material  and  ideal  interests  of  our  society. 

"  These,  in  brief,  are  the  principles  which  have  led  me  in  working 
out  the  plan  of  organization  of  this  institution,  which  already  counts  in 


41 

the  very  first  hour  of  its  formal  existence  a  greater  iiiiinl)er  of  pupils  than 
any  other  commercial  institute  of  the  present  or  former  times." 

Thus  the  institution  was  opened,  and  has  continued  its  work  from 
that  time  to  this,  except  when  it  was  disturbed  for  a  short  time  during  the 
summer  of  1866  during  the  Austro- Prussian  war. 

That  the  establishment  of  the  Commercial  Academy  of  Prague  really 
exercised  an  epoch  making  influence  in  Austria,  and  that  all  the  other 
institutions  established  later  have  taken  its  organization  more  or  less  as  a 
model,  is  plain  from  the  fact  that  the  well-known  statistician,  von  Roden, 
who  had  been  chosen  a  member  of  the  organizing  connnittee  of  the  Vienna 
Commercial  Academy  immediately  entered  into  correspondence  with 
Director  Arenz,  in  order  to  inform  himself  thoroughly  as  to  the  institute 
in  Prague.  The  Academy  for  Trade  and  Industry  at  Gratz  also  took  the 
institution  at  Prague  as  its  model  for  the  commercial  division  of  its  work ;  the 
Commercial  School  at  Reichenberg  likewise  based  its  curriculum  upon  that 
of  the  institute  at  Prague.  The  Prague  Academy  has  also  exercised  a  consid- 
erable influence  upon  the  development  of  similar  schools  in  other  countries. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  director  at  this  school  considers  it  a 
very  unwise  thing  for  boys  to  go  from  elementary  schools  first  into 
business,  and  then  to  return  to  the  commercial  school  at  a  later  period  for 
further  education.  He  says  that  the  idea  that  this  is  a  good  plan  to  follow 
rests  upon  a  false  educational  notion.  About  two  and  one-half  per  cent 
of  the  students  of  the  Prague  Academy,  up  to  1872,  had  followed  this 
plan,  and  the  experience  of  the  school  in  the  great  majorit}-  of  the  cases 
shows  that  it  is  very  unwise  for  3'oung  people  to  go  into  a  business  house 
before  they  take  the  course  of  the  school,  and  that  the  other  plan  of  taking 
the  course  first  and  then  going  into  a  business  house  is  the  proper  one. 
In  the  latter  case  the  advanced  instruction  of  the  acadeni}'  joins  directly 
on  to  the  general  course  of  instruction  which  the  pupil  has  had  in  the 
elementary  school.  The  youth  is,  moreover,  more  willing  to  adapt  him- 
self to  the  necessary  school  discipline  ;  it  is  easier  for  him  to  take  up 
certain  subjects,  and  he  adapts  himself  more  readily  to  steady  work  in  the 
scientific  and  practical  branches  than  when  he  is  older. 

The  supposed  advantages  of  the  other  plan  are  generally  bought  at 
the  expense  of  the  great  disadvantage  that  many  important  details  of 
previous  instruction  slip  out  of  the  memory  during  the  time  spent  in  the 
lousiness  house,  by  which  it  becomes  more  difficult  for  the  youth  to  take 
up  his  course  of  study  again.  The  certificate  of  having  ser\'ed  an 
apprenticeship  is  not  able  to  give  the  j'outh  that  tendency  toward  study 
which  he  loses  in  practical  life.  On  the  other  hand,  the  j'oung  man  w^ho 
enters  a  business  house  after  completing  this  course  takes  with  him  a  riper 
mind,  on  account  of  which  he  can  learn  the  details  of  the  business  much 
more  easily  than  he  otherwise  could.  -*i.^ 

The  director  is  also  of  the  opinion  that  the  pupils  who  attend  the 
academy  ought  not  to  be  otherwise  occupied.  For  this  institution,  like 
every  other  school,  demands  an  absolutely  undivided  application,  without 
which  no  systematic,  coherent  and  thoroughly  rounded  education  can  be 
obtained.  If  the  pupil  wishes  for  the  best  results  from  his  instruction, 
he  must,  so  long  as  he  attends  the  academy,  give  his  entire  time  to  the 
work,  and  those  youths  who  have  attempted  to  unite  practical  work  with 
instruction  in  the  school  have  soon  experienced  the  disadvantage  of  this 
combination,  and  have  given  up  either  one  or  the  other. 


42 

HISTORY    OF   THE    INSTITUTION    FROM     1 856    TO    1 872. 

The  attendance  at  the  academy  at  Prague  was  so  large  in  the  school 
year  1 8 57-1 858  that  the  instruction  had  to  be  given  in  parallel  divisions 
of  from  fifty  to  fifty-four  pupils.  The  second  year  of  the  course  was 
opened  in  the  autumn  of  1857,  ^"^  the  third  year  of  the  course  in  the 
autumn  of  1858.  The  higher  commercial  school  consisted,  therefore,  of 
a  regular  course  of  three  years,  and  of  a  preparatorj^  class.  The  latter 
was  abolished  in  1864,  as  the  number  of  students  steadily  decreased,  and 
the  necessary  preparation  could  be  obtained  in  other  schools  owing  to  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  gymnasia  and  real  schools.  ■  As  the  term 
academy  was  used  for  the  commercial  schools  founded  in  Buda-Pesth  in 
1857,  in  Vienna  in  1858  and  in  Gratz  in  1861,  the  Commercial  Council 
was  led  to  claim  the  right  to  the  same  title  for  its  institution,  which  was 
granted  it  by  an  ordinance  of  the  government  on  the  fourteenth  of  March, 
1866,  in  consideration  of  the  comprehensive  curriculum  of  the  Higher 
Commercial  Institute  in  Prague,  of  the  firm  establishment  of  the  same  in 
pecuniary  matters,  and  in  consideration  of  its  excellent  work. 

In  the  winter  of  1 859-1 860  the  popular  evening  lectures  were  e.stab- 
lished,  intended  for  the  general  public,  on  bookkeeping,  correspondence, 
commercial  arithmetic,  commercial  law,  French,  tariff  legislation,  money 
and  banking.  In  the  3'ear  1 860-1 861  a  new  element  was  introduced  into 
the  curriculum  under  the  title  of  Exercises  in  Speaking,  which  will  be 
noted  again  later.  In  1862  the  relations  of  the  professors  were  regulated 
by  a  set  of  ordinances  adopted  by  the  council  relating  to  their  rights  and 
duties.  In  1863  the  council  ordered  that  from  that  time  on  the  pupils  of 
the  Commercial  Academy,  in  cases  of  illness,  should  be  treated  gratis  in 
the  new  Merchant  Guild  Hospital. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  December,  1870,  the  president  of  the  Commercial 
Council,  in  the  presence  of  a  delegation  of  that  body,  presented  Director 
Arenz  a  written  address  in  w^hich  the  council  expressed  its  thanks  to  the 
director  of  the  academy  for  his  services  to  the  institution.  The  following 
quotation  seems  worth  noting  : 

"  On  the  fourth  of  October,  1856,  the  Merchant  Guild  of  Prague  held 
a  celebration,  the  memory  of  which  will  long  remain  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  were  permitted  to  share  in  it.  We  opened  at  that  time  an  institute 
whose  mis.sion  was  to  train  and  educate  in  the  commercial  sciences  the 
rising  generation  of  merchants,  and  in  this  way  to  contribute  to  the 
prosperity  of  our  national  trade.  If  we  consider  the  results  achieved  by 
this  institute,  in  the  course  of  the  fourteen  years  of  its  exi.stence,  we  must 
acknowledge  that  they  are  in  every  respect  satisfactory. 

' '  The  Commercial  Academy  of  Prague  holds  to-day  an  honored 
position  among  the  educational  institutions  of  our  beloved  countr}^  and 
lias  had  an  attendance,  since  the  first  year  of  its  organization,  far  exceed- 
ing the  expectations  of  its  founders,  and  forming  the  most  trustworthy 
measure  of  its  services.  Hundreds  of  young  men  who  have  completed 
the  three-year  course  of  the  institute  have  gone  out  into  practical  life,  and 
are  at  work  to-day  in  the  various  conunercial  and  industrial  houses  at 
home  and  abroad,  utilizing  there  the  knowledge  which  they  acquired  in 
the  Commercial  Academy  at  Prague. 

"  That  this  institute  has  been  able  to  develop  such  a  blessing-bringing 
activity  is  due,  Mr.  Director,  in  large  part  to  you,  who  conceived  the  plan 


43 

according  to  which  the  instruction  in  this  institute  should  be  organized. 
You  have  been,  since  its  beginning,  the  director  of  its  work,  and  have 
accomplished  in  this  capacity  a  work  with  your  colleagues,  of  the  results 
of  which  the  Commercial  Academy  may  well  be  proud." 

The  purpose  of  the  Prague  Academy  has  been  from  the  beginning  to 
direct  the  activity  of  its  pupils  immediately  toward  the  true  and  at  the 
same  time  all-round  and  strictly  professional  training  of  the  future  mer- 
chant, by  subordinating  everything  to  this  end,  and  by  bringing  the 
various  branches  of  learning  into  such  an  internal  connection  that  they 
supplement  and  explain  one  another.  Its  course  of  study,  as  described 
above,  embraces  three  classes  ;  each  with  a  one  year  curriculum.  On 
account  of  the  large  number  of  pupils  each  of  these  classes  is  divided 
into  two  sections  or  parallel  divisions  with  the  same  instruction. 

The  method  of  instruction  has  been  from  the  beginning  the  catecheti- 
cal, which  keeps  the  teacher  and  the  pupil  in  unbroken  relation  to  one 
another,  and  enables  the  latter  to  have  at  every  moment  a  correct  judg- 
ment as  to  the  work  of  the  pupil,  and  thus  to  concentrate  the  work  of 
the  instruction  upon  the  real  work  of  teaching,  and  not  upon  the  mere 
preparation  for  the  final  examination.  Instruction  in  the  model  office  is 
also  free  from  non-essentials.  Its  main  purpose,  is  directed  toward 
accomplishing  a  clear  insight  and  understanding  of  details  both  in  them- 
selves and  in  their  relation  to  the  whole,  and  in  this  way  to  develop  the 
pupil  into  a  thinking  merchant,  combining  for  this  purpose  theoretical 
accounting  with  the  other  auxiliary  work  which  belongs  to  it  and  with 
correspondence. 

A  not  unimportant  element  in  the  instruction  is  formed  by  the 
exercises  in  speaking,  mentioned  above.  After  a  brief  introduction 
relating  to  the  fundamental  principles  of  rhetoric  and  the  history  of 
eloquence,  the  pupils  of  the  last  year's  class  are  required  in  turn  to  make 
speeches  in  the  first  place  upon  subjects  which  are  assigned  to  them. 
The  essays  are  carefully  examined  beforehand  by  the  respective  professors 
in  order  that  nothing  unsuitable  shall  be  presented.  The  speaker  then 
delivers  his  essay  without  reference  to  his  manuscript.  After  this  speech 
a  debate  is  opened,  in  which  any  other  pupil  may  take  part  after  those 
regularly  assigned  for  the  work  have  delivered  their  speeches.  The 
debates  are  conducted  in  the  presence  of  a  professor,  who,  at  the  close, 
gives  a  general  criticism  of  the  work. 

The  instructing  body  of  the  academy  consists  of  a  director,  profes- 
sors and  the  assistant  teachers.  The  professors  are  appointed  permanently 
after  a  probation  of  three  years. 

The  youth  who  attend  the  Commercial  Academy  are  either  regular 
or  special  pupils.  Regular  pupils  are  those  who  expect  to  complete  all 
the  required  subjects  in  the  curriculum.  Special  students  are  those  who 
wish  to  attend  the  instruction  in  single  branches.  The  pupils  who  wish 
to  enter  the  lowest  class  must  be  able  to  show  that  they  have  completed 
the  lower  real  school,  or  a  lower  gymnasium,  or  an  equivalent  course. 
Those  who  present  certificates  of  graduation  from  either  of  the  above- 
mentioned  schools  are  admitted  without  examination.  The  pupils  who 
desire  admission  into  the  middle  or  upper  class  must  show  by  an 
examination  that  they  possess  tlie  requisite  knowledge  of  the  curriculum 
of  the  first  and  second  years  respectively.  At  the  close  of  the  three 
years'  course  the  final  examination   is  held.     This  examination   is  both 


44 

oral  and  written  ;  it  begins  early  in  the  month  of  Jul}-  and  lasts  fourteen 
daj-s.  The  final  certificate,  signed  by  the  director  and  all  the  professors 
engaged  in  the  work  of  the  last  year,  notes  the  work  done  in  each 
branch,  giving  the  marks  :  ' '  very  good  ;  "  "  good  ;  "  "  satisfactory^ ; ' ' 
"hardly  satisfactory;"  "bad."  A  final  mark  is  given  covering  the 
entire  examination,  and  classing  the  work  either  as  "excellent,"  "well 
done  ;  "  or  "  pass." 

Whoever  does  not  succeed  in  obtaining  at  least  the  mark  of  ' '  pass  ' ' 
receives  no  certificate,  but  upon  demand  he  may  receive  a  statement  that 
he  has  attended  the  work  of  the  class  during  the  past  year.  The  students 
who  pass  this  final  examination  with  success  are  admitted  into  the  one- 
3^ear  voluntary  service  in  the  army,  and  into  the  postal  ser\'ice  and  admin- 
istrative sendee. 

The  school  endeavors  to  secure  for  its  graduates  positions  in  prominent 
business  houses,  industrial  establishments,  banks,  etc.  The  mercantile 
public  knows  that  the  academy  recommends  only  competent  persons  and 
its  candidates  find,  therefore,  responsible,  and  in  most  cases,  well-paying 
positions. 

As  to  the  financial  control  of  the  academj',  this  is  exclusively  in  the 
hands  of  the  Commercial  Council.  The  scientific  and  pedagogical  control 
of  the  institute  is  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  director  and  the  faculty.  Each 
class  has  its  own  director  or  dean,  who  has  the  special  duty  of  looking 
after  the  particular  class,  and  forming  a  sort  of  intermediate  grade  between 
the  other  teachers  and  the  director. 

The  yearly  tuition  is  150  florins.  Special  students  pa}^  at  the  rate  of 
seven  gulden  a  year  for  each  course,  of  one  hour  a  week. 

The  Administrative  Council  of  the  academy  may  grant  entire  or 
partial  remission  of  tuition.  In  1873  about  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the 
students  were  exempted  from  tuition,  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  held 
scholarships  or  that  the  Administrative  Council  had  exempted  them  from 
tuition. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  institution  has  been,  from  the  begin- 
ning, entirely  dependent  on  its  own  resources,  and  has  never  been  in  a 
condition  compelling  it  to  ask  for  outside  aid,  whether  in  the  form  of 
government  grants,  or  in  the  form  of  contributions  from  private  citizens 
or  corporations,  with  the  exception  of  the  endowment  mentioned 
above.  Not  only  has  it  been  able  to  pay  its  expenses  out  of  its  income, 
but  it  has  been  able  to  add  from  time  to  time  a  certain  surplus  to  its 
endowment. 

In  November,  1872,  a  course  in  railroading,  postal  and  telegraph 
service  was  organized.  Students  desiring  to  enter  this  course  were  required 
to  have  passed  through  an  upper  gymnasium,  an  upper  real  school,  a  com- 
mercial institute,  or  some  other  equivalent  school,  or  they  were  required 
to  pass  a  corresponding  examination.  The  candidates  for  the  telegraph 
course  must  not  be  over  seventeen,  and  those  in  the  railroad  course  not 
under  twenty  nor  over  thirty.  Persons  actually  employed  in  railroad 
service  were  admitted  as  special  .students.  Postal  cadets,  stationed  in 
Prague,  were  required  to  attend  the  postal  .service  course.  The  curriculum 
extended  over  one  year.  Tlie  courses  began  on  the  third  Monday  in 
October,  and  in  the  case  of  the  cour.se  in  telegraphy,  la.sted  for  four  months. 
The  lectures  in  the  railnjad  cour.ses  and  in  the  ]")ostal  service  counses  lasted 
until  the  middle  of  April.     The  curriculum  was  organized  as  follows  : 


45 

1.     POSTAL  SKRVIce.  Hours  per  Week. 

a.  Theory  of  the  post-office 3 

b.  Commercial  geography  and  statistics 2 

c.  French  language 2 

d.  English  language 2 

l\.     RAILROAD  COURSK. 

a.  Traffic  service      3 

b.  Transportation 3 

c.  Telegraph  and  signal  service 

III.     COURSE  IN  TELEGRAPHY. 

a.  Theoretical  work 2 

b.  Telegraph  service 3 

c.  Practical  work i  hour  per  day. 

d.  French  language 2  hours  per  week. 

One  hundred  and  fifteen  students  were  enrolled  in  the  telegraph 
course.;  seventy-three  in  the  railroad  course  ;  and  sixt3'-nine  in  the  postal 
service  course.  The  tuition  for  the  telegraph  course  and  for  the  railroad 
course  was  twelve  florins  each,  and  for  the  postal  service  eight  florins. 
Those  who  had  passed  the  examination  in  the  telegraph  course  were 
eligible  for  appointment  in  the  telegraph  stations  throughout  Bohemia. 

According  to  an  order  of  the  ministry',  dated  Januar>'  7,  1875,  these 
technical  courses  were  to  remain  a  permanent  part  of  the  Commercial 
Academy  of  Prague,  and  a  State  grant  of  2000  florins  was  made  for  three 
years,  beginning  with  1875.  These  courses  were,  however,  abolished  in 
the  year  1877,  and  the  Commercial  Council  was  compelled  to  let  them 
drop,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  could  not  carry  them  on  with  good  financial 
results. 

The  evening  courses,  spoken  of  above,  owing  to  decreasing  interest, 
increasing  cost  and  growing  difficulties  in  the  way  of  carrj'ing  them  out, 
were  dropped  at  the  end  of  the  school  j-ear  1860-1 861. 

PURPOSE    .VND    PRESENT    ORGANIZATION    OF   THE    ACADEMY. 

The  present  purpose  of  the  academy,  as  expressed  in  the  announce- 
ments of  the  school,  is  to  furnish  to  those  young  men  who  have  a  proper 
preliminary  education,  a  theoretical  and  practical  training  for  commerce 
in  the  widest  sense  of  that  term.  It  is  a  special  school  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  a  special  training,  characterized  by  a  fundamental  feature  run- 
ning throughout  the  entire  course  of  its  instruction,  and  which  aims  to 
give  its  pupils  the  kind  of  training  which  will  prepare  them,  upon  leaving 
the  .school,  for  the  various  departments  of  business  activity.  The  various 
subjects  in  its  curriculum  are  united  in  a  close  organic  connection  ;  they 
complement  and  explain  one  another,  and,  as  a  whole,  aim  at  raising  the 
level  of  the  general  culture  of  the  pupils,  at  the  same  time  that  they  impart 
the  necessary  special  knowledge.  The  instruction  iti  the  mercantile  sub- 
jects, in  the  narrow  sen.se,  is  not  limited  either  to  purely  theoretical  dis- 
cussions nor  to  the  acquisition  of  commercial  mechanical  facilities.      It  is, 


46 

on  the  contraiA",  at  once  theoretical  and  practical.  It  is  intended  that  the 
pupils  shall  acquire  the  necessar>"  insight  into  the  actual  conduct  of  trade 
and  commerce,  at  the  same  time  that  the}'  acquire  those  external  facilities 
which  belong  to  this  particular  branch  of  human  industry.  For  this  latter 
purpose  the  various  practical  exercises  in  the  model  office  are  especially 
intended. 

Besides  the  scientific  and  professional  training  of  its  pupils,  the  Com- 
mercial Acadeni}'  lays  a  special  emphasis  upon  a  broad  training  and  the 
moral  development  of  its  pupils,  in  order  to  secure  as  far  as  possible  the 
desirable  maturity  and  firmness  of  character  appropriate  to  the  social 
position  of  the  merchant. 

Organization  of  the  Instruction. — ^The  Commercial  Academy 
conducts  two  distinct  courses  ;  a  three-year  course,  and  a  one-year  course. 
The  latter  is  intended  for  the  graduates  of  the  intermediate  schools.  The 
German  language  is  used  as  the  language  of  instruction,  and  the  following 
subjects  are  included  in  the  curriculum  of  the  three-j-ear  course  : 

/.  German  Language  and  Literature. — Exercises  in  grammar,  in 
style  and  in  speaking,  in  order  to  train  the  student  to  a  correct  and  fluent 
expression  of  his  thought.  The  exercises  in  speaking  are  intended  to 
train  the  pupil  to  self-control  and  clearness  in  expressing  himself,  in  dis- 
cussions before  the  general  public.  The  history  of  literature  makes  the 
student  acquainted  with  the  most  important  products  of  German  literature 
as  an  important  element  of  general  culture. 

//.  The  Other  Important  Foreign  Languages. — French  and  English 
are  required  subjects  ;  the  participation  of  the  pupils  in  Italian,  Spanish 
and  Bohemian  is  optional.  The  chief  weight  in  these  languages  is  laid  on 
practical  instruction  in  speaking  and  writing  for  the  mercantile  career  ; 
mercantile  correspondence  in  each  of  these  languages  receives,  therefore, 
special  attention,  at  the  same  time  the  students  are  expected  to  make 
themselves  acquainted  with  the  most  important  literary  works  in  these 
languages. 

///.  Algebra. — Fundamental  conceptions  ;  logarithms  ;  equations  ; 
calculations  of  probabilities  ;  proportions. 

IV.  Mercantile  and  Political  Arithmetic. — Knowledge  of  usage  ; 
practical  training  in  all  the  various  kinds  of  calculation  useful  in  business 
life  ;  arbitrage  ;  calculation  of  funds  and  loans  and  life  insurance  ;  casting 
of  produce  and  usages. 

V.  Theory  of  Trade. — Correspondence ;  office  work  ;  single  and 
double  entry  bookkeeping  with  practical  exercises  (these  last  are  pro- 
vided for  in  the  model  office)  ;  the  conduct  of  the  model  business  house  (the 
pupils  are  divided  into  several  sections  representing  agencies  or  offices  in 
the  different  centres  of  trade  which  carry  on  commerce  with  one  another). 
The  mercantile,  l)anking  and  shipping  business  receive  special  attention. 
Great  care  is  taken  that  each  pupil  shall  receive  training  in  each  of 
these  different  departments,  without  losing  sight  of  the  business  as  a 
whole.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  operations  of  the  house  are  closed  and 
balanced. 

VI.  Pcnmc      'lip. 

VII.  Mercantile  and  Industrial  Geography. — vStudy  of  the  Austro- 
Hungarian   state  ;  a  careful   study  of  the  Austrian  empire  in  regard  to 


47 

its  physical   and  technical   development,  and  its  commercial  importance. 
Industrial  and  commercial  statistics  by  the  comparative  method. 

VIII.  History  zvith  Continual  Reference  to  Comtneree  and  Trade. — 
General  history  of  the  world's  commerce  ;  history  of  the  development  of 
domestic  trade. 

IX.  Political  Jiconomy. — Development  of  the  fundamental  notions  for 
the  correct  conceptions  of  economic  relations  ;  theory  of  production, 
exchange,  income  and  taxation. 

X.  Commercial  and  Industrial  Legislation. — Study  of  the  important 
provisions,  from  a  niercantile  point  of  view,  of  the  civil  law,  of  commer- 
cial law,  and  industrial  and  financial  legislation. 

XI.  Natural  History. — With  special  reference  to  the  relations  which 
are  most  important  to  the  knowledge  of  products. 

XII.  Physics. — The  most  important  natural  laws  and  phenomena  in 
Cheir  technical  and  commercial  applications. 

XIII.  Knoivledge  of  Products,  Chemistry  and  Technology. — The 
study  of  the  origin  and  composition  of  commercial  products,  and  the 
methods  of  testing  the  same  as  to  their  constituents,  quantity,  genuine- 
ness and  adulteration  by  practical  exercises.  Discussion  of  the  most 
important  technical  and  mechanical  manufactures,  and  explanation  of  the 
:tiachines  used  in  such  work.  Third-year  pupils  have  the  opportunity,  by 
;)ractical  excursions,  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  agriculture,  trade 
and  industry  of  Bohemia. 

XIV.  Stenography. — With  special  reference  to  the  needs  of  the  office. 

Means  of  Instruction. — In  order  to  promote  the  efficiency  of  the 
instruction  the  academy  possesses  : 

1 .  A  library  for  the  use  of  teachers  and  pupils. 

2.  A  collection  of  products  which  is  kept  up  to  date  so  that  it  may 
fairly  be  considered  an  exposition  of  everj^hing  which  is  important  for 
trade  and  commerce. 

3.  A  natural  history  museum,  in  close  connection  with  the  collec- 
tion of  products. 

4.  A  collection  of  physical,  mechanical  and  technological  apparatus, 
so  far  as  is  necessary,  to  make  the  instruction  of  the  school  effective. 

5.  A  collection  ot  technological  wall-maps  as  an  aid  to  instruction  in 
chemistr\-  and  knowledge  of  products. 

6.  A  chemical  laborator>-  for  teachers  and  pupils. 

7.  A  collection  of  coins. 

A  satisfactory''  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  these  various  subjects  are 
treated  will  be  found  by  comparing  the  s^^nopsis  of  the  subjects  of  instruc- 
tion given  in  the  Menna  Commercial  Academy,  which  covers  essentially 
ttie  same  ground.* 

Privileges  Connected  with  the  Certificate  of  Graduation  from  the 
.Academy. — The  regular  pupils  who  have  completed  the  entire  course  and 
passed  the  final  examination  are  entitled  to  take  advantage  of  the  one-year 
:uilitar>-  service  law. 

'  See  account  of  Vieuua  .\cadeiny  given  above. 


48 
DISTRIBUTION    OF   HOURS    AND    SUBJECTS. 

CURRICUI.UM.       I. — THREE-YEAR    COURSE. 

Hours  per  Week. 
Required  Subjects  of  Instructiou.  ist  Year.      2d  Year.     3d  Year. 

Theory  of  commerce i  i  — 

Office  work  and  correspondence 2  —  — 

Mercantile  correspondence  and  bookkeeping —  4  5 

Mercantile  arithmetic 3  3  2 

Political  arithmetic —  —  i 

Usage  and  casting  of  produce —  —  i 

Algebra 2  i  — 

Geography 2  2  2 

History 2  2  2 

Political  economy —  —  2 

Commercial  legislation —  —  2 

Natural  history 2  —  — 

Physics 2  I  — 

Chemistry  and  technology —  2  2 

Knowledge  of  products  and  technology —  2  3 

German 4  3  3 

French  language  and  correspondence 4  4  3 

English  language  and  correspondence 4  3  3 

Penmanship 2  2  i 

Total 30  30  32 

Optional  Subjects  of  Instruction. 

Italian  language  and  correspondence 3  3  3 

Spanish  language  and  correspondence —  2  2 

Bohemian  language  and  correspondence 2  2  2 

Practical  chemistry —  —  4 

Stenography 2  2  i 

Sfaf/sf/cs. — The  report  of  the  academy  for  1891  and  1892  gives  tlie 
following  information  as  to  students  attending  the  three-3'ear  course  : 

Four  hundred  and  forty  pupils  attended  the  course.  Of  these,  1 52 
were  in  the  first  year's  course  ;  161  were  in  the  second  year's  course  ;  127 
were  in  the  third  year's  course.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  number  of 
pupils  in  the  third  year  formed  a  very  large  per  cent  of  the  ntunber  in  the 
first  year.  Of  the  434  whose  names  were  on  the  rolls  at  the  end  of  the 
year,  177  were  Catholics  ;  17  were  Protestants  ;  240  were  Jews  ;  371  were 
from  Bohemia  ;  105  being  from  the  city  of  Prague  alone.  There  were 
also  6  students  from  Germany  ;  3  from  Russia  ;  2  from  Roumania  ;  i 
from  France  ;  and  i  from  Egypt. 

Of  the  434  pupils,  14  were  15  years  of  age  ;  81  were  16  years  of  age  ; 
130  were  17  years  of  age  ;  120  were  18  3'ears  of  age  ;  58  were  19  j^ears 
of  age  ;  24  were  20  years  of  age  ;  4  were  21  years  of  age  ;  i  was  25  years 
of  age  ;  and  i  was  28  years  of  age — showing  that  the  great  majority  were 
between  the  ages  of  16  and  20.  Con.siderably  more  than  three-fourths  of 
the  .students  were  over  17  ;  about  one-half  over  18  ;  191  were  sons  of 
merchants,  49  of  manufacturers,  79  of  government  officials,  33  of  produce 
men,  26  of  farmers,  and  the  others  of  various  other  professions.  It  will 
be  noted  that  the  vast  majority  of  them  were  from  what  might  be  called 
the  business  cla.s.ses. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  106  of  the  pupils  .studied  Italian  ;  4^2 
vSpani.sh  ;  187  .stenography.  Also,  that  10  of  the  students  were  exemplefd 
from  the  payment  of  fees  altogether  ;  65  received  50  per  cent  remi.ssiou  ; 
and  12  held  the  various  scholarships. 


49 

THE   ONE-YEAR   COURSE. 

The  purpose  of  the  one-year  course  is  to  offer  to  young  men  with  an 
advanced  preliminary  training,  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  such  an 
amount  of  commercial  knowledge  as  will  prepare  them  for  a  position  in 
some  business  house,  or  as  will  supplement  their  general  educational 
training,  so  as  to  be  of  assistance  in  some  other  occupation. 

Organization  of  the  Instruction. — The  curriculum  is  constituted  in 
the  following  manner  : 

Hours  per  Week. 

Bookkeeping  and  mercantile  correspondence 6 

Theory  of  commerce  and  office  work 2 

Mercantile  arithmetic 4 

Political  arithmetic      ....•• i 

Commercial  law 2 

Commercial  and  indnstrial  geography '.    .  3 

Penmanship i 

Study  of  important  branches  of  domestic  industry 2 

Total 21 

A  synopsis  of  these  subjects  may  be  fairly  well  understood  from  the 
similar  synopsis  in  the  case  of  the  Commercial  Academy  at  Vienna. 

Various  Provisions  in  Regard  to  this  Course. — No  person  can  be 
admitted  to  this  course  who  has  not  successfully  completed  the  highest 
class  of  a  domestic  or  foreign  intermediate  school.  Persons  are  not 
required  to  have  passed,  however,  the  final  examination  in  this  inter- 
mediate school.  As  no  sttidents  are  admitted  with  any  different  prelimi- 
nary training  all  the  pupils  are  classed  as  regulars,  and  no  student  is 
admitted  unless  he  takes  all  the  instruction  given.  Only  such  pupils  are 
admitted  aS  are  thoroughly  at  home  in  the  German  language  ;  foreigners 
must  give  evidence  of  a  mastery-  of  German  before  being  admitted  to  this 
course.  The  number  of  pupils  is  limited  to  forty.  The  course  begins 
on  the  first  of  October  and  closes  the  middle  of  July.  The  tuition  is  150 
florins  a  year  ;  no  remissions  or  reductions  of  tuition  are  granted. 

Statistics. — The  report  of  the  academj'  for  1891-1892  shows  that 
there  were  16  pupils  in  this  course  at  the  end  of  the  3^ear  :  8  Catholics  ; 
I  Protestant ;  7  Jews.  All  the  pupils  were  over  18  years  of  age.  Two 
were  18  years  old  ;  i  was  19  years  old  ;  2  were  20  j-ears  old ;  4  were  21 
years  old  ;  5  were  22  years  old  ;  i  was  23  years  old  ;  i  was  25  years  old. 
Eleven  were  graduates  of  the  gymnasium  and  5  of  the  real  school. 

Budget  of  the  Academy. — The  financial  report  of  the  Merchant  Guild 
of  Prague  for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1891,  shows  that  the  income 
of  the  academy  for  that  year  was  55,522.50  florins.  Of  this  sum  1600 
florins  came  from  endowment ,  52,512.50  florins  came  from  tuition  in  the 
three-year  course  ;  1275  florins  came  from  tuitionintheone-yearcour.se; 
135  florins  came  from  laboratory  fees.  Its  expetises  were  classed  as  fol- 
lows :  taxes,  1124.30  florins;  sinking  fund  and  rent,  4000  florins; 
salaries,  27021.64  florins;  contribution  to  the  Merchant  Guild,  2319.98; 
repairs,  1567.56  florins  ;  heating  and  lighting,  1081.79  florins  ;  printing, 
2063.41  florins  ;  various  other  expenses,  944.62  florins.  Total,  40,122.40 
florins.  Showing  a  surplus  of  15,400.10  florins.  The  estimate  for  the 
year  1892  was:  income,  53,300  florins;  expenditures,  46,000  florins. 
The  total  expenses  for  the  academy  up  to  December  31,  1885,  amounted 
to  889,476.40  florins  ;  the  total  income  amounted  to  918,905.53  florins. 

4 


50 

Statistics  of  Attendance. — The  statistics  of  attendance  are  given  in- 
the  following  list  : 

School  Year.                      Preparatorj*  ^Year.        ist  Year.          2d  Year.  3d   Year.         Total  No. 

856-57 69  123  —  —  T92 

857-58 56  118  107  —  2S1 

858-59 30  82  97  96  305 

859-60 -25  85  74  75  259 

860-61 -24  87  76  55  242 

861-62 23  77  75  52  227 

862-63 iS  93  64  55  230 

863-64 14  85  86  42  227 

S64-65 —  72  89  55  216 

865-66 —  52  63  57  172 

866-67 —  46  48  43  137 

867-68 —  64  56  34  154 

868-69 -  73  66  37  176 

869-70 —  97  72  57  226 

870-71 —  112  96  60  268 

871-72 —  143  113  81  337 

872-73 —  158  130  82  270 

873-74 —  151  144  no  405 

874-75 —  70  132  121  323 

875-76 —  69  78  108  255 

876-77 —  72  ,68  76  216 

877-78 —  68  69  58  195 

878-79 —  81  67  62  2ro 

879-80 —  81  84  56  221 

S80-S1 —  loi  86  77  264 

881-S2 —  100  113  75  288 

882-S3 —  97  97  105  299 

883-84      —  118  94  89  301 

884-S5 —  117  125  89  331 

885-S6 —  107  121  III  339 

According  to  the  foregoing  table  it  appears  that  the  attendance  at  the 
academy  from  1856  to  1885  amounted  to  3234,  of  whom  about  86  per  cent 
were  from  Bohemia,  and  about  13  percent  from  foreign  countries.  Of  these 
pupils  61  per  cent  were  sons  of  business  men  ;  19  per  cent  were  sons  of 
officials  and  German  officers  ;  14  per  cent  were  sons  of  farmers,  capitalists, 
etc. ;  6  per  cent  were  sons  of  professional  men.  Fifty-three  per  cent  came 
from  real  schools  ;  31  per  cent  came  from  gymnasia;  12  per  cent  came 
from  private  schools  ;  4  per  cent  came  from  other  commercial  schools. 

It  appears  that  of  this  number  2128,  or  70  per  cent  of  all  the  pupils 
who  entered  the  school,  completed  the  three-year  course.  Of  later  years 
the  record  is  very  much  more  favorable,  rising  in  some  instances  as  high  as 
95  per  cent. 

Faculty. — The  faculty  for  the  year  1891-92  consisted  of  a  director  and 
seventeen  teachers.     The  names  and  subjects  are  as  follows  : 

Director  :  Subjects  : 

Herr    Dr.   Ernst  Kaulich Algebra  and  Mercantile  Arithmetic. 

Teachers : 

Herr  Ltnlwig  Ausserwinkler Chemistry   and  Knowledge  of  Products. 

Custodian  of  Collections. 

Ilerr  Kranz  Bardachzi lioheniian  Language,  Literature  and  Cor- 
respondence. 

Ilerr  PMuard  Deiniel Theory  of  Commerce,  Mercantile  Arith- 
metic, Bookkeeping  and  Correspond- 
ence. 

Herr   .•\.    Fischel I'enman.ship. 

Herr  W'ilhelm  I-'ischer Algebra,  Physics  and  Natural  History. 


51 

Teachers  :  Subjects  : 

Herr  Josef   Guckler Stenography. 

Herr   Alois    Kraus Geography,  History  and  German. 

Herr  Karl  Leclaire I'Yench  Language,  Literature  and  Corre- 
spondence. 

Herr  Josef  Odenthal Mercantile  Correspondence  and  Book- 
keeping, Director  of  the  Model  Office. 

Herr  Gustav  Reiniger English  Language,  Literature  and  Corre- 
spondence. 

Herr  Josef  Riedl German  Language  and  Literature. 

Herr  Dr.  Gustav^  Rolin French     and     Spanish     Language,    and 

Spanish  Correspondence. 

Herr  Gustav  Rothbaum Theory  of  Commerce,  Office-work,  Mer- 
cantile and  Political  Arithmetic  and 
r^"!  Usage. 

Herr  Dr.  Anton  Scholz Geography  and  History.  Acted  as  Libra- 
rian. 

Herr   Wenzel   Sobek Bohemian  Language. 

Herr  Alois  Tonelli Italian  Language,  Literature  and  Corre- 
spondence. 

Herr  J.  U.    Dr.  Albert  Werunsky Commercial     I^egislation    and     Political 

Economy. 

Salaries  and  Pensions. — It  is  an  interesting  feature  in  mo.st  of  the 
European  schools,  whether  private  or  public,  that  some  arrangement  is 
usually  made  for  the  granting  of  pensions  to  teachers  who  have  serv^ed  a 
certain  length  of  time  in  the  institution.  The  Merchant  Guild  of  Pragtie 
has  provided  a  pension  fund,  to  be  made  up  partly  of  grants  made  by  the 
Merchant  Guild  itself;  by  contributions  of  the  professors  in  the  school, 
and  by  a  certain  per  cent  of  the  surplus  income  of  the  school. 

Kvery  professor  is  entitled  to  a  pension  after  serving  ten  consecutive 
years  as  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  Commercial  Academy.  The 
pension  is  payable  as  soon  as  the  professor,  in  consequence  of  bodih^  or 
mental  disease,  becomes  unable  to  act  as  instructor  ;  in  all  cases  upon  the 
completion  of  forty  years  of  serv^ice.  The  amount  of  the  pension,  after 
ten  years  of  service,  is  forty  per  cent  of  the  salary,  and  rises  two  per  cent 
every  year,  so  that  after  fort}-  years  of  sers'ice  a  professor  is  entitled  to  his 
full  salary  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

The  professors  are  appointed  at  a  salary  of  looo  florins,  which  is 
raised  every  five  years  by  the  sum  of  200  florins,  so  that  after  twenty-five 
years  of  service  the  salary  amounts  to  2000  florins.  Every  professor  who 
wishes  to  enjoy  the  pension  privilege  nuist,  within  twelve  months  after 
his  definitive  appointment,  contribute  the  third  part  of  one  year's  salary 
to  the  pension  fund,  and  must  further  contribute  a  third  part  of  each  quin- 
qtiennial  addition  to  his  salarj-.  The  widow  of  a  professor  who  had 
become  entitled  to  a  pension  is  entitled  to  a  pension  of  350  florins  a  3'ear 
so  long  as  she  remains'  a  widow,  and  the  allowance  to  the  widow  for  the 
support  of  the  children  of  the  professor  who  had  become  entitled  to  a 
pension,  is  calculated  according  to  the  rule  adopted  by  the  government 
for  civil  ser\'ice  officials,  provided  that  the  pension  of  the  mother  and  the 
allowance  of  the  children  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  525  florins. 

The  preceding  pages  contain  a  description  of  the  two  most  important 
higher  schools  for  connnercial  studies  in  Austria,  but  these  two  .schools  do 
not,  by  any  means,  represent  the  onlyopportiniity  for  youth,  who  expect  to 
enter  business,  to  acquire  a  special  training  for  their  future  work.  Indeed, 
it  may  be  doiibted  whether  any  other  country'  has  organized  so  complete  a 


52 

system  of  commercial  instruction  as  Austria.  The  Department  of  Educa- 
tion has  given  special  attention,  in  the  last  few  ^-ears,  to  the  development 
of  this  branch  of  instruction,  and  while  the  number  of  schools  is  not  large, 
considering  the  needs  of  a  modern  industrial  and  commercial  community, 
the  system  on  which  they  are  organized  is  an  excellent  one,  and  there  is 
no  doubt  that  it  will  be  further  extended  in  the  near  future. 

Professor  Glasser's  book  on  "Commercial  Education  in  Austria"* 
gives  full  information  as  to  the  present  state  of  commercial  education,  so 
far  as  it  can  be  ascertained  from  an  exposition  of  the  laws  bearing  upon 
the  subject,  and  by  the  statistics  as  to  attendance,  etc.,  in  these 
schools.  According  to  a  table  printed  in  that  work,  there  are  thirteen 
commercial  high  schools  of  the  general  rank  of  the  Commercial  Academy 
in  Vienna  and  the  similar  one  in  Prague,  in  the  Austrian  monarch}', 
excluding  Hungary.  About  three  thousand  pupils  attend  these  schools. 
There  are  one  hundred  and  four  other  schools,  which  may  be  classed  as 
commercial  institutions,  covering  the  ground,  more  or  less  fulh', 
appropriated  in  this  country'  by  the  commercial  colleges,  though  in  nearly 
all  cases  the  curriculum  is  based  upon  more  scientific  principles  and  is 
more  carefully  developed  in  the  Austrian  schools  than  in  our  own.  The 
same  experience  has  been  met  in  Austria  as  in  other  countries,  that  the 
attempt  to  develop  commercial  courses  side  by  side  with  other  courses  in 
the  same  institution  has  not  been  successful.  Generally  speaking,  such 
courses  have  given  satisfaction  to  no  class  of  people  ;  they  interfere  with 
the  healthy  development  of  the  other  courses  in  the  institution,  and  are 
uniformly  neglected  by  the  authorities  of  the  institution  with  which  they 
are  connected. 

*  See  list  of  authorities  used  iu  the  preparation  of  this  report. 


B. 
HIGHER  COMMERCIAL   INSTRUCTION   IN   FRANCE. 


I.    THE  SUPERIOR  SCHOOL  OF  COMMERCE  AT  PARIS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

HISTORY   OF   ITS    FOUNDATION   AND    DEVEU)PMENT.* 

In  1820  two  Paris  merchants,  MM.  Brodard  and  Legret,  interested  in 
the  future  of  French  commerce,  conceived  the  project  of  founding  a  school 
for  the  purpose  of  preparing  young  men  for  business  by  special  studies, 
supplementary  to  their  general  instruction.  These  men  of  enterprise, 
whose  names  deserve  to  be  saved  from  an  unjust  oblivion,  created  for  this 
purpo.se,  in  the  Hotel  des  Fermes  in  rue  de  Grenelle-Saint-Honore,  an 
establishment  of  a  type  at  that  time  absolutely  new,  to  which  they  gave 
the  name,  "Special  School  of  Commerce." 

Such  an  enterprise,  which  seems  to  us  to-day  so  natural,  was  bold  for 
the  epoch  at  which  our  modest  innovators  undertook  it.  In  fact,  public 
opinion  did  not  at  that  time  recognize  either  the  necessity  or  even  the 
po.ssibility  of  such  instruction,  for  which  practice  alone  up  to  that  time 
had  provided.  If  people  would  admit,  on  being  pres.sed,  that  our  industr>' 
needed  trained  assistants,  capable  of  constructing  and  caring  for  the 
machinesf  which  it  employed,  by  repairing  accidents  which  occurred 
in  foundries  and  machine  shops,  no  one  thought  that  commerce  could 
ever  become  a  subject  of  instruction  in  the  school,  because,  as  everj'one 
claimed,  on  account  of  the  multiplicity  of  the  specialities  of  which  it  is 
composed. 

The  basis  of  this  idea,  which  furnishes  some  specious  arguments  of  a 
nature  very  seductive  to  the  prejudices  of  the  superficial  minds  of  mere 
routinists,  will  not  bear  examination.  For  if  it  is  true  that,  after  having 
studied  the  sciences  listed  in  the  program  of  commercial  instruction,  there 
are  still  in  each  branch  of  commerce  peculiar  difl&culties,  dangers, 
resources,  in  a  word,  trade  secrets,  so  to  speak,  it  is  not  less  true  that  the 
man  who  has  been  prepared  by  study  will  advance  more  surely  and  steadily 
along  his  chosen  way,  and  that,  circumstances  being  equal,  he  will  possess, 
after  a  .short  period  of  practice,  an  undisputed  superiority,  thanks  to  the 
instruction  which  he  has  received.  In  other  words,  there  exists  an 
amount  of  commercial  knowledge,  at  once  theoretical  and  practical,  which 
one  can  acquire  in  a  school,  and  which  can  be  taught  only  there.  It  must 
be  added,  of  course,  that  the  actual  management  of  real  business  affairs 
can  alone  complete  this  instruction. 

The  creation  of  a  special  school  of  commerce,  a  scientific  institution 
up  to  that  time  without  a  predeces.sor,  offered  other  numerous  difficulties. 
It  was  not  only  necessary-  to  group  into  one  body  of  studies,  methodically 

*  For  a  full  account  of  this  branch  of  instruction  in  France  consult  L^utey,  Ecoles  de  Commerce, 
from  which  the  account  here  given  is  taken,  partly  in  translation,  partly  in  abstract.  Consult  list  of 
authorities  used  in  preparation  of  this  report. 

t  The  School  of  Arts  and  Manufacture  which  was  to  provide  so  well  for  this  instruction  was  not 
founded  until  later  (1S29). 

53 


54 

organized,  all  those  branches  of  knowledge  which  might  be  useful  to  a 
merchant,  but  also  to  choose  and  train  professors  ;  to  select  and  classify 
the  studies  ;  and,  finall}',  to  find  a  public,  a  clientele.  In  a  word,  one 
had  to  create  the  pupils,  so  to  speak,  and  this  was  not  the  easiest  thing  in 
the  w^orld,  considering  the  ideas  of  the  time. 

Moreover,  the  obstacles  which  these  innovators  encountered  did  not 
come  alone  from  the  prejudices  against  which  the  schools  of  commerce 
to-day  must  still  struggle.  It  was  denied  at  that  time  that  we  possessed 
the  qualities  essential  to  commerce  ;  that  our  French  spirit  was  suited  to 
the  slow  continuousness  of  distant  trade  ;  to  the  chances  of  long  extended 
speculations  upon  which  the  business  of  importation  and  exportation 
depends.  One  did  not  see  that  our  spirit,  because  of  its  verj^  impression- 
ableness  and  mobility,  lends  itself  admirabl}^  to  all  these  forms  of  business. 
Finally,  men  refused  to  recognize  that  our  French  intelligence,  so  keen, 
so  supple,  so  broad,  contained  the  germs  of  ability  which  necessity  on  the 
one  hand  and  our  high  tastes  and  love  of  riches  on  the  other  were  destined 
to  develop.  In  proof  of  this  fact,  the  industrial  and  commercial  pro- 
gression, proven  by  statistics,  may  be  cited — a  progression  which  would 
have  been  doubled  and  tripled  by  that  economic  instruction,  the  lack  of 
which  France  cruelly  misses  to-day. 

In  1820  there  were  in  addition,  in  the  very  situation  of  things,  other 
serious  obstacles.  The  countrj-  had  just  emerged  from  the  great  w'ars  of 
the  Republic  and  Empire,  w^hich  had  excited  all  its  brilliant  faculties,  and 
it  w^as  very  difficult  for  the  nation  to  pass  over  quickly  to  the  considera- 
tion of  industry  and  commerce  ;  to  enter  without  hesitation  upon  that 
which  men  disdainfull}-  called  ' '  A  Mercantile  Career. ' '  The  young  men 
of  the  middle  class  of  society,  for  whom  this  new  establislnnent  was 
specially  intended,  leaned  toward  the  so-called  liberal  careers ;  they 
wished  to  be  lawyers,  physicians,  writers  :  no  one  wished  to  be  a  mer- 
chant. These  young  men  regarded  it  as  a  sort  of  derogation,  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  inferiority,  to  devote  themselves  to  commerce,  that  is  to  say, 
to  a  specialty  of  the  "  earth,  earthy,"  which  did  not  merit  serious  study  ; 
and  we  have  seen  that  the  university,  whose  classical  spirit  incited  to  the 
admiration  of  the  past,  has  contributed  no  little  to  confirm  our  country- 
men in  these  ideas,  which  have  paralyzed,  and  still  paralyze,  the  industrial 
and  commercial  enterprises  of  France. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances,  little  favorable  to  its  development, 
that  the  new  school,  shortly  after  transferred  to  the  Hotel  Sully  in  the 
rue  Saint  Antoine,  was  organized.  Some  large  buildings,  spacious  courts 
and  a  large  garden  were  put  at  its  disposal.  A  physical  cabinet,  a 
chemical  laboratory  and  collections  of  products  were  established  at  a  large 
cost.  A  numerous  personnel,  too  numerous  perhaps,  w^as  brought 
together.  Finally,  the  school  assumed  a  uniform,  carried  a  sword,  and 
all  its  internal  movements  were  carried  on  to  the  sound  of  a  drum. 

But  besides  these  features,  a  little  ambitious  for  the  ends  of  a  private 
school,  a  council  composed  of  distinguislied  men,  mcml)ers  of  the  institute, 
bankers,  manufacturers,  merchants,  who  comprehended  and  appreciated 
at  its  true  value  the  attempt  of  MM.  Brodard  and  Legret,  devoted  itself 
to  framing  a  program  of  instruction,  an  organization  of  studies,  and 
modifying  it  according  to  necessity  and  assuring  its  execution.  Having 
learned  by  study  and  experience  what  various  (jualities  and  what  various 
branches  of  knowledge  are  indispensable  to  one  who  would  undertake  a 


55 

commercial  career,  these  men,  among  whom  we  find  the  names  of  Chaptal, 
Jacques  Lafitte,  Ternaii,  Louis  Marchand,  Casiniir  Pcrier,  J.  B.  Say, 
Charles  Dupui,  etc.,  sketched  out  with  a  firm  and  sure  hand  the  program 
and  the  regulations  of  this  new  institution.  Their  wise  provisions  have 
been  preserved  in  the  school.  They  have  served  as  a  model,  as  a  point 
of  departure,  for  all  the  attempts  of  the  same  sort  which  have  been  made 
in  France  and  in  foreign  countries.  It  was  as  a  result  of  their  advice,  for 
example,  that  the  new  scheme  of  instruction  was  originally  distributed 
into  three  years,  and  divided  into  three  departments,  or  .so-called  "offices." 
No  student  could  pass  from  one  department  to  another  without  passing 
an  examination.  This  council,  which  has  continually  maintained  within 
the  school  its  healthy  traditions,  the  cau.se  of  its  pro.sperity,  is  still  in 
existence. 

The  beginning  of  the  school  was  happ}-  ;  pupils  began  to  arrive 
promptly.  One  can  even  say  without  exaggeration  that  the}-  came  from 
every  part  of  the  globe.  The  proportion  which  has  always  maintained 
itself  between  French  pupils  and  that  of  foreigners  showed  itself  at  the 
beginning,  in  the  ratio  of  one-third  or  less  of  foreign  .students,  and  two- 
thirds  for  France.  The  faculty,  well-chosen,  learned  and  devoted,  knew 
how  to  carry  out  in  a  happy  way  the  plans  adopted  by  the  council,  and 
during  the  first  two  }'ears  the  future  appeared  to  be  secure. 

However,  misfortune  arrived.  The  charges  of  the  .school  were  heavy, 
and,  in  fact,  high  in  proportion  to  the  real  capital  of  the  enterprise.  The 
continued  success  of  the  school  would  have  been  able  to  meet  this  loss,  but 
the  current  began  to  change  before  the  prolonged  difiiculties  rendered  more 
serious  by  political  events.  The  faculty  found  it  impo.ssible  to  repair  the 
losses  under  the  circumstances.  Faults  of  administration  were  added,  the 
situation  became  each  day  more  difficult,  the  school  changed  hands  several 
times,  and  finally  came  to  an  end  after  the  revolution  of  July.  From  1S20 
to  1830  the  Special  School  of  Commerce  was  under  the  successive  direction 
of  MM.  Brodard  and  Legret,  its  founders  ;  M.  Monnier  des  Taillades,  a 
former  professor  ;  M.  L.  Pelleport,  a  merchant  ;  M.  Poux-Franklin  ;  and 
Adolphe  Blanqui,  directors  of  studies.  • 

;!=:  *  *  *  ;!<  ;i; 

Adolphe  Blanqui,  who  held  the  chair  of  historj-,  commerce  and  polit- 
ical economy,  did  not  fear  to  undertake,  upon  his  own  personal  account, 
an  enterprise  which  up  to  that  time  had  demanded  so  many  victims. 

Adolphe  Blanqui  was  young,  without  wealth,  already  a  father  of  a 
family.  The  times  were  bad,  and  the  future  threatening  for  his  enterprise. 
However,  he  accepted  the  heritage  of  ruin  with  a  firm  resolution  to  turn 
back  the  current  of  public  opinion  which  at  that  time  narrowly  followed 
the  so-called  "Protective  Doctrine  of  National  Labor;"  resolved  not  to 
allow  an  institution  to  perish,  which  was  consecrated  to  the  diffusion  of 
the  principles  of  political  economy,  and  to  commercial  liberty,  to  which 
he  had  already  devoted  his  life.  He  brought  to  this  useful  work  an  inde- 
fatigable activity  ;  an  inexhaustible  and  charming  spirit  ;  a  wide  experi- 
ence ;  and  the  numerous  and  useful  relations  which  his  brilliant  qualities 
and  the  gracious  amenity  of  his  character  had  gained  for  him. 

Adolphe  Blanciui  changed  the  name  of  the  school  and  called  it  the 
"  Superior  School  of  Commerce, "  which  name  it  still  bears  to-day.  He 
then  transferred  it  from  the  magnificent  Hotel  Sully  to  the  more  modest 
location  in  the  rue  Neuve-Saint-Gilles.     There,  as  a  wide  administrator. 


56 

he  could  limit  the  expenses,  and  bring  them  into  proportions  better  adapted 
to  the  resources  of  the  moment.  Followed  by  the  pupils  who  loved  him, 
surrounded  by  a  small  group  of  instructors  faithful  to  the  enterprise,  he 
was  an  example  to  all  of  labor  and  devotion.  He  sacrificed  his  person 
and  recoiled  before  no  obstacle,  and  all  this  was  done  in  such  a  wa}'-  that 
in  .studying  the  history  of  this  struggle,  which  lasted  until  his  death,  more 
than  twenty-five  j-ears,  one  does  not  know  which  to  admire  the  most,  his 
courage,  his  activity-,  the  variety  of  his  knowledge,  the  fecundity  of  his 
genius,  or  the  charming  influence  he  exercised  upon  all  who  came  near 
him. 

The  reputation  of  the  institution  increased  with  the  growing  celebrity 
of  its  director.  The  personality  of  Blanqui  dominated  it  and  protected  it 
at  the  same  time.  Deputy  from  Bordeaux,  elected  a  member  of  the  insti- 
tute in  1838,  a  brilliant  writer,  a  popular  professor,  he  threw  upon  the 
school  the  reflection  of  his  own  reputation.  He  created  for  it  connections 
wherever  his  writings  were  read  and  appreciated.  He  drew  upon  it  the 
attention  of  the  government,  whose  aid  he  secured  for  it,  and  the  institu- 
tion was  then  known  throughout  the  entire  world  under  the  namiC  of 
"  Hcole  Blanqui." 

Another  man  who  was  also  to  acquire  a  certain  celebrity,  and  to  honor 
the  school  where  he  had  been  trained,  and  to  contribute  largely  to  its 
success  was  M.  Joseph  Garnier.  Twenty  years  3'ounger  than  its  director, 
he  became  his  co-worker  and  then  his  partner.  His  lovel}'  character,  his 
just  and  kind  spirit  gained  for  him  the  S3'mpathies  of  many  b)'  which  the 
institution  profited.  He  remained  as  a  professor  of  the  school  until  his 
death,  almost  five  years  after.  Certainly  one  can  say  that  if  commercial 
instruction  had  found  in  the  numerous  economists  who  have  held  power 
since  1820  the  devotion  and  assistance  which  these  two  men  of  whom  we 
.speak  had  given,  the  destinies  of  this  instruction,  and,  consequently,  the 
economic  condition  of  the  country  would  have  been  entirely  different.  It 
is  a  great  misfortune  that  men  did  not  understand  at  that  time  the  import- 
ance of  such  instruction,  the  necessity  there  was  of  developing  it,  of 
extending  it,  of  sustaining  it ;  and  we  are  paying  dearly  to-day  for  this 
lack  of  insight  on  the  part  of  our  governors. 

1839  the  growing  success  of  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  led 
Adolphe  Blanqui  to  transfer  it  to  the  rue  Amelot,  to  the  building  which 
it  still  occupies.  He  could  then  'undertake  certain  needed  modifications, 
which  were  not  possible  while  the  school  was  in  the  Hotel  Sully.  The 
institution  was  again  to  go  through  a  period  of  embarrassment,  which, 
although  it  did  not  affect  the  instruction  of  the  school,  nevertheless 
created  great  difficulties  for  its  director.  Finally  after  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury of  persevering  and  courageous  struggle  Adolphe  Blanqui  died 
prematurely  in  1854,  at  the  age  of  56  years,  without  seeing  the  results 
of  the  efforts  which  his  profound  faith  in  the  future  of  economic  instruc- 
tion had  \c(\  him  to  undertake. 

This  Ivcole  Blanqui,  for  one  can  fairly  call  it  so  since  it  had  really 
become  his  work  by  virtue  of  all  that  he  had  done  for  it,  was  then 
acquired  by  M.  Gervais  de  Caen.  This  able  administrator  who  knew 
how  to  improve  the  financial  situation  of  the  school,  and  make  of  it  a 
good  business  venture,  said  modestly  of  his  own  term  of  office  "that  it 
had  come  like  the  lal)ors  of  the  last  liour,  after  the  greatest  heat  and  the 
severest  labors  of  the  day. "      He  had,   therefore,  in   his  own  words  the 


57 

easy  merit  of  contributing  to  the  solidity  of  the  enterprise  which  had 
resisted  so  maii}'  storms.  He  brought  to  its  succor  financial  resources 
and  the  skill  of  a  sound,  industrial  and  commercial  administration. 

M.  Gervais  de  Caen,  who  directed  the  school  for  thirteen  years,  that 
is  to  say  until  his  death  in  1867,  gave,  at  least  to  the  pupils  whom  he  had 
under  his  care  the  future  merchants  and  administrators,  an  example  not 
to  be  despised,  of  a  good,  well  managed  business  enterprise,  thanks  to 
the  order  and  economy  of  his  management  showing  tho.se  positive  results 
which  the  labor  of  man  ought  to  produce  ! 

M.  Gervais  de  Caen,  moreover,  did  not  apply  his  habits  of  industrial 
and  commercial  administration  in  a  way  prejudical  to  the  instruction  of 
the  school.  He  resolved  to  maintain  the  traditions  which  he  had  learned 
in  his  work  with  Blanqui.  He  urged  upon  the  instructing  body  the  lofti- 
ness of  its  mission,  demanding  of  them  to  take  the  largest  po.ssible  part 
in  the  incessant  progress  of  .science,  and  of  the  .special  aid  which  it  brings 
each  day  to  commerce  and  to  indu.stry.  Having  outlived  the  .storms,  the 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  certainly  achieved  under  his  direction  a 
normal  rate  of  advance,  reaching  each  year,  and  often  times  surpassing 
the  figures  fixed  for  its  permanent  numbers. 

Interested  in  establishing  the  necessary  discipline  for  the  conduct  of 
the  studies,  which  had  been  very  much  relaxed  under  the  direction  of 
Adolphe  Blanqui,  Gervais  de  Caen  has  expressed  the  following  opinion 
resulting  from  his  long  experience  :  first,  that  one  cannot  carry  on  the 
in.struction  and  education  of  young  men  from  sixteen  to  twenty-five  years 
without  a  personal  and  constant  supervision  ;  second,  that  in  a  great  city 
like  Paris  with  young  men  of  this  age,  belonging  almost  always  to  families 
in  easy  circumstances,  one  cannot  influence  efficiently  the  day  pupils  from 
the  double  point  of  view  of  instruction  and  education.  In  consequence, 
and  although  they  were  elements  of  financial  profit  M.  Gervais  de  Caen 
did  not  hesitate  to  exclude  day  pupils  from  the  courses  of  the  school. 
Nor  did  he  believe  in  the  isolated  work  in  private  rooms,  and  he  sup- 
pressed this  absolutel3^  This  last  point  of  view,  which  has  been  enforced 
since  that  time  in  the  Superior  School,  and  was  later  adopted  by  the 
School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies,  and  also  the  view  relating  to  the 
exclusion  of  day  pupils  and  to  the  necessity  of  a  discipline  sufficiently 
severe  to  maintain  the  morals  of  the  resident  pupils,  have  appeared  to  us 
worthy  of  production  in  this  place. 

*  <-  *  *  «  * 

At  his  death  M.  Gervais  de  Caen,  who  had  no  natural  heirs,  made  a 
will  in  favor  of  the  daughter  of  his  predecessor.  The  direction  of  the 
school  was  entrusted  provisionally  to  Aime-Girard,  who  for  ten  years  had 
occupied  most  brilliantly  the  chair  of  chemistry  in  this  establishment. 
During  the  last  two  years  of  the  preceding  administration  and  the  two 
years  of  the  provisional  administration  which  followed,  the  number  of 
pupils  was  not  maintained — it  even  .sensibly  diminished.  The  only 
school  in  Paris  where  one  could  pursue  commercial  studies  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  keep  up  its  numbers  ;  in  spite  of  its  brilliant  past  and  its  reputa- 
tion without  a  rival,  it  had  scarcely  .seventy  pupils  in  1869. 

It  was  then  that  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  always  solicitous 
for  the  interests  of  national  commerce,  was  impressed  with  the  situation. 
Its  president,  M.  Deniere,  thinking  that  such  a  .school  would  secure  a 
greater  prestige  in  the  eyes  of  merchants  if  it  were  patronized  by  the 


58 

chamber,  proposed  to  his  colleagues  its  acquisition.  In  the  session  of 
the  twenty-seventh  of  January  1869  the  chamber  accepted  the  proposition 
of  the  president,  and  authorized  him  to  treat  with  Mademoiselle  Blanqui 
for  the  purchase  of  the  school,  and  the  hiring  of  the  building  which  it 
occupied.  The  purchase  was  made  at  the  price  of  120,000  francs,  and 
the  rent  of  the  buildings  was  fixed  at  25,000  francs  per  3-ear  on  the  fol- 
lowing fifteenth  and  eighteenth  of  February.  The  first  task  of  the  Paris 
Chamber  of  Commerce  was  to  select  a  director  of  the  school.  It  made  a 
choice  of  one  of  the  professors  of  the  school,  M.  Schwaeble,  a  former 
pupil  of  the  polytechnic  school,  thus  showing  its  firm  intention  of  main- 
taining the  traditions  of  the  school  and  to  raise,  if  possible,  the  scientific 
level  of  commercial  studies,  which  it  had  just  taken  inider  its  efiicierit 
and  lasting  protection.  The  chamber  was  happ}-  in  its  choice  of  M. 
Schwaeble  as  director,  who  saw  the  number  of  its  pupils  increase  from 
seventy  to  ninety-two  in  its  first  3'ear. 

During  the  unhappy  war  of  1870  and  the  insurrection  which  followed, 
the  courses  of  the  school  were  suspended.  The  building  changed  into  a 
hospital  rendered  verj-  great  services,  and  the  faculty  proved  that  it  was 
equal  to  the  most  difficult  tasks,  and  that  it  knew  how  to  fulfill  its  duty 
on  every  occasion. 

As  soon  as  it  was  at  all  possible  the  courses  were  opened  again,  and 
the  success  of  the  school  went  on  increasing.  The  chamber  studying  the 
interests  of  Paris  and  its  commerce,  and  desiring  that  the  sons  of  merchants 
of  our  city  should  benefit  to  a  greater  extent  by  the  special  instruction  of 
this  school,  decided  in  1873  that  day  pupils,  taking  a  lunch  at  the  school, 
should  be  admitted  from  that  time  fonvard.  As  soon  as  this  decision  was 
made  the  number  of  pupils  increased,  and  the  figure  of  130  was  quickly 
reached,  and  several  times  passed.  We  should  like  to  go  into  details  upon 
this  phase  of  the  school,  and  its  remarkable  achievements  would  furni.'^h 
us  interesting  descriptions  under  more  than  one  head,  but  we  must  limit 
ourselves  to  absolute  essentials. 

M.  Schwaeble  died  in  the  month  of  July,  1880,  some  days  after  the 
close  of  the  school  j^ear.  He  had  been  present  at  the  distribution  of  the 
prizes,  and  he  was  said  to  have  expressed  the  wish  not  to  die  before  tlie 
clo.se  of  the  school  3-ear. 

The  Chamber  of  Commerce  had  to  appoint  his  successor.  A  former 
pupil  of  the  polytechnic  school  had  served  it  well,  and  it  was  again  a 
former  pupil  of  this  school  which  tlie  chamber  chose  to  replace  I\L 
Schwaeble.  M.  J.  Grelley,  professor  of  physics  in  the  school  and  a  friend 
of  M.  Schwaeble,  was  appointed  to  .succeed  him.  This  choice  was  not 
less  happy  than  the  preceding  one.  For  no  person  could  have  been  better 
prepared  for  this  difficult  function  than  M.  Grelley,  nor  more  capable  of 
performing  it  satisfactorily  than  he.  Formerly  a  director  of  an  important 
foundry,  initiated  into  practical  affairs,  a  good  accountant,  M.  Grelley 
had  been  long  familiar  with  administrative,  indu.strial  and  commercial 
questions.  On  the  other  hand,  his  position  in  the  .school  which  he  was 
called  upon  to  direct,  the  justness  and  amenity  of  his  character  assured 
him  the  devoted  aid  of  his  colleagues.  Under  the  excellent  direction  of 
M.  Grelley,  a.ssisted  by  the  counsel  of  the  members  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  and  notalily  of  M.  vSalmon,  M.  Mignon  and  M.  Piault, 
the  school  in  the  rue  Amelot  has  again  seen  its  reputation  steadily 
increase. 


59 

To  Sum  Up. — The  Superior  School  of  Commerce,  founded  upon  an 
idea,  the  practical  value  of  which  was  contested  for  a  long  time,  has 
passed  through  four  very  different  periods  in  its  sixty-five  years  of 
existence. 

The  First  Period  from  1820  to  iSjo. — This  was  the  epoch  of  founda- 
tion, of  groping  in  the  dark,  of  administrative  mistakes  which  led  to  a 
frequent  change  of  hands  and  finally  to  a  catastrophe. 

The  Second  Period  from  iSjo  to  183^. — Saved  from  the  ruins  ;  it  was 
protected  and  defended  against,  all  difficulties  and  all  attacks  by  a  powerful 
personality  which  instilled  new  life  into  it. 

The  Third  Period  from  18^^  to  iS6c^. — Superior  to  everjMudividuality 
but  that  of  the  school  itself,  the  management  in  a  certain  way  impersonal 
rested  upon  its  early  traditions  and  succeeded  in  maintaining  them  and 
showing  substantial  advance. 

The  Fourth  Period,  from  i86(^  to  the  Present. — The  apogee  of  the 
school — thanks  to  the  support  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  to  the 
constant  care  of  its  Council  of  Administration,  to  the  happy  choice  of 
directors,  professors  and  examiners,  and  finally,  to  the  firmness  of 
discipline,  to  the  excellence  of  its  curriculum  of  study  and  the  incontesta- 
ble solidity  of  its  work. 

It  has  not  been  possible  for  us  to  procure  the  statistics  of  attendance 
at  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  for  every  year  since  its  organization 
in  1820,  but  we  believe  that  the  number  of  six  thousand  is  not  an  incorrect 
estimate.  There  were  1750  pupils  from  1872  to  1885,  distributed  as 
follows  : 

1S72 •  .  100  pupils  1879 135  pupils 

1^73 105  "  1880 130  '• 

1874 120  "  i88r 120  " 

1S75 140  '•  1882 115  " 

1876 140  "  1883 122  " 

1S77  .   • 150  "  1884 115  " 

1878 148  "  1885 no  " 

This  diminution  in  attendance  of  late  years  resulted  from  the  compe- 
tion  of  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies,  which  gives  essentially 
the  .same  instruction. 

The  first  department  is  always  the  most  numerous,  and  it  is,  conse- 
quently, divided  into  two  .sections.  The  table  below  shows  the  average 
distribution  of  the  students  during  the  last  few  }'ears  : 

Residents.  Half  Residents.  Total. 

T->-    i  /-vi         I  First  Section 22  8  -jo 

First  Class,  <  ^  „„„,     u  „^  o  "^ 

'  t  Second  22  8  30 

Second  Class 30  10  40 

Third  Class 16  4  20 

Total,         90  30  120 

(Foreign  pupils  constituted  on  an  average,  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  the  attend- 
ance ;  Bachelors  on  an  average,  one-twelfth.) 

The  school  has  received  half  residents,  or  day  pupils,  only  since  1S73. 
Of  1650  pupils  since  1873,  498  were  day  pupils,  an  average  of  thirt^'-five 
per  year. 


60 
CHAPTER  II. 

SUBSIDIES  ;    SCHOLARSHIPS  ;     INTERNAL   REGULATIONS   OF   THE   SCHOOL. 

Subsidy. — The  Superior  School  of  Commerce  has  never  received  any 
subsidy. 

Scholarships. — In  1838  M.  Cunin-Gridaine,  at  that  time  Minister  of 
Commerce,  desired  on  one  occasion  to  visit  the  final  examinations  of  the 
school  to  form  for  himself  an  idea  of  the  value  of  the  work  done  there. 
Being  well  convinced  of  the  excellence  of  the  instruction,  he  conceived 
the  thought  of  assisting  each  year  a  certain  number  of  poor  3-outh,  and 
established  some  half  scholarships,  which  were  open  to  competition. 
This  was  the  first  evidence  of  interest  shown  by  the  government  in  com- 
mercial instruction.  Fifteen  years  later,  on  the  eighth  of  June,  1853,  M. 
Magne  converted  the  half  scholarships  into  entire  scholarships.  To-day, 
the  State  supports  twelve  scholarships  for  pupils  who  pass  two  years  in 
the  Superior  School  of  Commerce.  In  consequence,  at  the  end  of  each 
school  year,  about  the  fifteenth  of  July,  six  vacant  scholarships  are  open 
for  competition  at  Paris,  Lyons,  Marseilles,  Toulouse,  Bordeaux,  Rouen, 
Nantes,  Nanc}-,  L,ille  and  Dijon. 

The  sum  granted  by  the  IMinistry  of  Commerce  for  the  aid  of  pupils, 
not  having  varied  since  1853,  is  to-day  considerably  below  the  sum  which 
they  actually  cost  the  school.  The  latter  accepts  the  situation,  however, 
without  complaining,  for  it  finds  a  sufiicient  compensation  for  the  loss 
which  it  sustains  in  the  fact  that  these  scholarships  being  open  to  competi- 
tion, and  the  regulations  under  which  they  are  given  being  administered 
Avith  absolute  impartiality,  they  are,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  always 
held  by  good  pupils. 

Conditions  of  Admission  to  the  Competitive  Examinatio7i. — No  one 
can  be  admitted  to  the  competitive  examination  unless  he  shall  have 
shown  that  he  is  of  French  birth  ;  that  he  is  at  least  sixteen  years  of  age, 
and  not  more  than  twenty,  on  the  first  of  October  of  the  j-ear  in  which  the 
examination  occurs.     No  dispensation  from  this  provision  is  allowed. 

The  candidates  who  fulfill  these  conditions  must  register  between  the 
first  and  fifteenth  of  July,  at  the  latest,  at  the  prefecture  of  the  department 
in  which  they  desire  to  pass  the  examination.  They  must  submit  certifi- 
cates at  that  time  relating  to  the  birth  of  the  candidate^a  certificate  of 
the  formalities  prescribed  by  law — a  certificate  of  vaccination,  and  a  written 
declaration  indicating  the  city  in  which  the  candidate  wishes  to  be  exam- 
ined, also  detailed  information  as  to  the  financial  condition,  the  number 
•of  children  and  other  charges  of  the  parents,  as  well  as  an  abstract  of  the 
taxes  paid  by  the  parents. 

Examinations. — The  examination  consists  entirely  of  written  com- 
positions, the  subjects  of  which  are  taken  from  the  course  of  study  indicated 
below  (the  course  of  the  first  year),  and  sent  to  the  prefecture  of  the 
Ministry  of  Connnerce  in  sealed  envelopes.  Tlie  examination  of  the 
essays,  and  the  classification  of  the  candidates  are  reported  to  the  Ministry'' 
of  Commerce  l)y  a  commission  appointed  for  this  ]nirpose. 

Tlie  compositions  compri.se  :  First,  a  dictation  intended  to  .show  that 
the  candidate  can  write  French  correctly  ;  .second,  an  historical  or  geograph- 
ical topic  ;  third,  a  te.st  in  accounting  ;  fourth,  an  exercise  in  arithmetic ; 
fifth,  elementary  fiucstions  in  ]>hysics  or  chemistry  ;  sixth,  an  English  or 


61 

German  theme  ;  seventh,  an  elementary  original  design  in  black  crayon. 
(An  hour  and  a  half  is  allowed  for  each  subject.) 

Regulations  of  the  School. — The  school  receives  resident  and  day 
pupils,  lunching  in  the  dining  hall,  provided  they  are  at  least  fifteen 
years  of  age.  •  No  pupil  can  be  admitted  to  the  courses  of  the  second  >ear 
until  he  shall  have  completed  his  sixteenth  year.  Admission  into  this 
division  is  allowed  only  after  an  examination  ;  bachelors  in  science,  and 
bachelors  of  special  secondary  instruction  are  excused  from  this  examina- 
tion. The  yearly  price  of  board,  tuition  and  lodging  is  fixed  at  2000 
francs  for  resident  pupils  who  are  present  at  the  opening  of  the  year,  which 
takes  place  the  first  Monday  in  October.  Pupils  who  remain  at  the  school 
during  the  long  vacation  (from  the  thirty-first  of  August  to  the  thirtieth 
of  September)  pay  a  sum,  based  ou  the  yearly  price,  of  200  francs  per 
month.  Special  lessons  carried  on  without  interruption  during  the  months 
of  August  and  vSeptember,  prepare  the  new  pupils,  and  the  pupils  who 
have  fallen  behind,  for  the  courses  of  the  following  year.  The  pupils  do 
not  wear  uniforms.  They  can  have  a  private  room  by  paying  a  supple- 
mentary fee  of  100  francs  per  term.  In  return  for  an  annual  subscription 
of  100  francs,  the  pupils  receive  lessons  in  gymnastics,  fencing,  dancing, 
riding  and  boxing.     This  subscription  is  obligatory  for  all  resident  pupils. 

Day  Pupils. — The  day  pupils  lunch  at  the  school.  They  attend  the 
courses  from  half-past  eight  in  the  morning  until  five  o'clock  in  the  liven- 
ing, in  accordance  with  the  program  of  studies. 

The  price  for  the  day  pupils  is  fixed  at  1000  francs  per  year  for  the 
pupils  who  are  present  at  the  beginning  of  the  year.  The  pupils  who 
follow  the  courses  of  the  school  during  the  long  vacation  pay  a  fee  of  100 
francs  for  the  two  months  ;  they  do  not,  however,  receive  lunch  during 
this  period.  The  day  pupils  can  also  profit  by  the  various  lessons  in 
gymnastics,  etc.,  by  a  payment  of  100  francs  a  year.  The  pupils  of  all 
divisions,  under  the  guidance  of  the  management  of  the  school  and  in 
accordance  with  the  instructions  of  their  family,  attend  the  different 
religious  denominations  to  which  they  belong. 


CHAPTER  III. 

INSTRUCTION  ;  DIVISION  OF  STUDIES  ;  PROGRAM  ;  EMPLOYMENT   OF  TIME  ; 

EXCURSIONS. 

First  Class. — The  Superior  School  of  Commerce  is  divided  into  three 
divisions  or  offices.     The  entire  course  of  study  lasts  three  j-ears. 

The  first  office  (first  year)  is,  properly  speaking,  only  a  preparatory 
year  for  the  more  .special  studies  of  the  following  years.  This  first  clas.s 
is  always  more  numerous  (on  an  average  sixty  pupils) ,  and  is  for  this 
reason  divided  into  two  sections.  The  second  section,  which  is  preparatory 
to  the  first,  comprises  the  most  backward  pupils. 

The  first  year  is  given  to  the  improvement  of  penmanship,  studv  of 
history  ;  geography ;  arithmetic  ;  and  an  elementary  course  upon  the  usages 
of  commerce  ;  primary  notions  of  bookkeeping  ;  also  physics  and  chem- 
istry, in  which  the  students  .study  the  elements,  vocabulary,  nomenclature 
and  classification  ;  further,  the  elements  of  ordinary-  legi.slation  and  of 
drawing.     Pupils  commence  in  this  year  the  study  of  foreign  languages. 


62 

Foreigners  study  the  French  language,  and  French  pupils  perfect  them- 
selves in  the  more  detailed  study  of  the  rules  of  their  own  language. 

The  division  of  labor,  as  shown  by  the  detailed  program*,  implied  in 
a  certain  way  the  necessity  for  the  first  organizers  of  this  instruction  to  fix 
a  minimum  age  for  entrance.  Intelligence  and  the  memory  suffice  for 
certain  studies  ;  but  the  study  of  science  demands  power  of  attention, 
reflection  and  judgment.  In  a  word,  the  epoch  of  their  development 
cannot  be  arbitrarily^  advanced  any  more  than  the  development  of  the 
brain  itself.  The  minimum  age  of  entrance  for  pupils  lo  the  Superior 
School  of  Commerce  was  according^  fixed  at  fifteen  years  for  the  first 
class,  and  the  school,  as  a  result  of  its  experience,  would  be  rather  inclined 
to  lower  than  raise  this  age  limit. 

Second  Office  or  Year. — The  second  office  does  not  receive  pupils 
under  sixteen,  as  we  have  said.  This  provision  has  been  maintained, 
though  not  without  creating  each  3'ear  new  difficulties.  The  pupils  in 
general  have  a  marked  desire  to  enter  upon  the  second  year  immediately, 
without  troubling  themselves  as  to  whether  they  are  in  a  condition  to 
profit  by  the  courses.  It  is  for  them  and  too  often  for  their  parents  a 
question  of  amour-propre. 

The  various  directors  of  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  have  found 
themselves  invariably  face  to  face  with  the  difficulty  of  making  those  who 
come  forth  from  the  factories  of  baccalaureates  understand  that  the  science 
of  commerce  is  not  composed  of  certain  formulas  which  it  is  sufficient  to 
remember  in  order  to  be  well  prepared  to  make  an  excellent  merchant. 
These  j^oung  people  are  astonished  that  they  must  work  seriously  and  for 
a  long  time  in  order  to  learn  that  which  seems  to  them  so  simple  a  priori. 
They  would  often  like  to  arrive  at  the  advanced  parts  of  science  at  the 
very  beginning  ;  to  occupy  themselves  with  finances,  with  the  large  enter- 
prises of  the  merchant,  with  the  complicated  operations  of  the  exchange, 
etc.  In  a  word,  they  would  like  to  begin  at  the  end,  and  to  begin  with 
that  which  can  only  be  the  complement  of  serious  studies,  leading  the 
pupils  by  degrees  to  the  possession  of  a  positive  knowledge  which  initiates 
them  into  the  life  of  affairs,  It  is  easy  to  see,  therefore,  that  one  was 
obliged  to  fix  a  limit  of  age  for  entrance  into  the  second  year,  and  to 
institute  an  examination  which  all  pupils  who  would  enter  it  directly  must 
pass,  with  the  exception  of  bachelors  of  science  and  bachelors  of  special 
secondary  instruction. 

The  courses  pursued  in  the  .second  office,  as  the  detailed  program 
shows,  comprise  the  continuation  of  some  of  the  preceding  studies : 
Essays  relative  to  commercial  correspondence  ;  the  application  of  arith- 
metic and  algebra  to  all  the  operations  of  commerce  and  banking  ; 
theoretical  and  practical  accounting  in  its  various  branches  ;  commercial 
geography  and  the  history  of  commerce  ;  the  study  of  the  commercial 
code  of  fiscal  and  tariff"  legislation  ;  of  commercial  statistics  ;  of  chemistr}- 
as  applied  to  industr>'  and  commerce;  of  physics;  of  raw  materials  and 
commercial  products,  specimens  of  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  museum 
belonging  to  the  school,  and,  finally,  drawing  and  stenography.! 

Proi>ra}n  of  the  Course  of  Study  in  the  Third  Year. — The  third  office 
(third  year)  is  devoted  to  superior  instruction.     This  instruction,  to  which 

*  For  profrram  of  first  year  see  Syllabus  of  Co\irses  in  the  School  for  Higher  Commercial  Studies 
which  are  csseutially  the  same  as  in  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce,  also  table  on  pajje  64. 

t  For  program  of  second  year  consult  Syllabus  of  Courses  in   School  of   Higher  Commercial 
Studies  (first  year  of  the  regular  course) ;  also  table  on  page  64- 


63 

no  pupil  is  admitted  without  having  passed  one  year  in  the  second  office, 
comprises  besides  a  review  of  the  preceding  studies,  exchange  and  arbitrage  ; 
the  mechanism  of  the  operations  of  commerce  ;  the  multiform  applications 
of  accounting  to  industry,  banking  and  commerce  ;  the  questions  of  insur- 
ance which  necessitate  the  calculation  of  probabilities ;  chemistry  as 
applied  to  the  study  of  merchandise  and  the  detection  of  adulterations  ; 
elements  of  mechanics  as  applied  to  the  wants  of  commerce  and  industry, 
to  the  equipment  of  trade  ports,  to  that  of  railroads,  docks,  etc.  ;  tech- 
nology or  the  description  of  the  leading  industries,  applied  physics, 
commercial  and  maritime  law  ;  political  economy  ;  commercial  history  ; 
the  continuation  of  geometry  and  drawing,  and  finally,  foreign  languages, 
of  which  speaking  knowledge  is  required  as  far  as  possible.  A  good 
pupil  of  the  third  year  on  graduation  is  supposed  not  only  to  understand 
German,  English  and  Italian  or  Spanish,  but  al.so  to  correspond  in  three 
of  these  languages.  A  few  very  bright  ones — the}^  are  rarely  French 
pupils — get  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  make  themselves  understood  in  speaking. 
The  language  courses  in  the  third  office  are  carried  on  exclusively  in  the 
language  studied.  In  the  office  where  the  courses  of  technology  and  raw 
materials  have  an  exceptional  importance,  one  applies  the  studies  by  means 
of  an  imitation  of  the  real  transactions  of  commerce  ;  each  pupil  opens  and 
closes  accounts  of  all  sorts,  he  buys  and  sells  merchandise  according  to 
the  course  of  the  da}-,  carries  on  a  bank,  dispatches  ships,  corresponds  in 
foreign  languages,  devotes  himself,  in  a  word,  under  the  direction  of  an 
experienced  professor,  to  the  most  difficult  and  varied  operations  of 
commerce.-'^ 

Such  a  plan  as  the  above  needs  no  commentar}-.  We  have  not 
hesitated  to  produce  it  entire  in  order  to  show  that  commercial  instruction 
is  not,  as  its  detractors  pretend,  or  those  who  are  ignorant  of  it  maintain, 
a  narrow  instruction  "  of  the  earth,  earthy  ;  "  an  instruction  of  the  shop, 
but  it  is  in  reality  a  scientific  instruction  at  once  general  and  special 
directed  toward  the  positive  studies  which  are  of  use  to  young  men  who 
intend  to  play  a  role  in  commercial,  industrial,  administrative  or  consular 
careers. 

But  if  the  program  .speaks  for  itself,  it  will  not  be  superfluous  for  us 
to  call  attention  to  how  much  devotion,  intelligence,  experience  in  practi- 
cal affairs  and  in  education  have  been  necessary  since  the  origin  of  this 
school  to  create,  organize,  improve  and  make  this  program,  in  its  entirety, 
to  constitute  that  which  one  has  called  "the  science  of  commerce," 
especially  when  one  considers  the  difficulty  of  finding  instructors  who 
knew  how  to  put  together  the  materials  in  which  it  was  their  business  to 
instruct,  for  the  purpose  of  their  particular  training,  and  in  which  variety 
was  not  to  exclude  the  unity  of  view. 

It  would  not  have  been  sufficient  for  the  professors  to  be  merely 
learned,  as  those  in  the  colleges  and  lycees  ;  it  was  necessar}-  for  their 
lectures  to  bear  the  seal  of  experience,  for  the  most  of  them  to  have  been 
initiated  into  the  life  of  affairs,  for  them  to  live  or  to  have  lived  for  a 
certain  length  of  time  face  to  face  with  practical  difficulties  arising  \vith 
ever>-  step,  and  which  it  was  necessarj-  to  solve  immediately.  It  was 
only  from  such  men  that  one  could  demand  that  they  should  give  young 
men  a  training  which  should  lead  directly  to  the  practice  of  connnerce. 

*  For  program  of  tfiird  year,  consult  Syllabus  of  Courses  iu  the  School  of  Uiglier  Commercial 
Studies,  (second  year  of  the  regular  course/  ;  also  table  on  page  64. 


64 


To  maintain  the  traditions  of  useful  education  while  raising  its  level 
to  the  height  of  progress  realized  in  science  and  its  applications  ;  such,  in 
brief,  was  the  work  of  the  various  managements  which  have  succeeded 
one  another  at  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce,  and  this  was  a  work  of 
no  small  merit. 

Distribution  of  the  Time. — The  working  da}-  is  divided  for  the  resident 
pupils  in  the  different  offices  as  follows  :  Lecture  and  recitations,  six 
hours  ;  study,  four  hours  ;  recreation,  five  hours  ;  repose,  nine  hours  ; 
total,  twenty-four  hours. 

There  is  thus  an  average  of  sixty  hours  of  labor  per  week,  including 
the  study  hours  in  the  office.  The  da}-  is  thus  divided  :  From  5.30  to 
6  o'clock,  rising  and  making  the  toilet  in  dormitories  ;  from  6  to  8  o'clock, 
study  in  the  offices  ;  from  8  to  8.30  o'clock,  first  breakfast  and  recreation  ; 
from  8.30  to  10  o'clock,  lessons  ;  from  10  to  11  o'clock,  lessons  ;  from  11 
to  12.30  o'clock,  second  breakfast  and  recreation  ;  from  12.30  to  2  o'clock, 
lessons  ;  from  2  to  2.30  o'clock,  recreation  ;  from  3  to  4  o'clock,  lessons  ; 
from  4  to  5  o'clock,  lessons  ;  from  5  to  7  o'clock,  dinner  and  recreation  ; 
from  7  to  9  o'clock,  study  in  the  offices. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  vSTUDIES  IN  THE  OFFICES. 

Hours  per  Week  for  Kach  Course. 
First  Office.  Second  Office.  Second  Third 

SUBJECTS.  Second  Section.        First  Section.  Office.  Office, 

French 9  4/4  2 

Mathematics 4'^  AYz  yA  3 

Accounting 3  3  3>^  3 

Penmanship 2  2  2j^  i 

Commercial  Correspondence.  ...  i  i 

Phj-sical   Geography 2%  2 

Commercial  Geography 3  3 

History 2  2% 

Commercial  History 1%  i>2 

Physics \]4.  i/^  I  1/4 

Chemistry i>^  3  lYz  \yi 

Mechanics I 

Natural   History i 

Raw  Materials i|^  2 

Technology i 

Commercial  Law i  I  I  1 1^ 

P'iscal  Legislation i 

Political  Economy i^ 

Drawing 3  3  3  3 

Stenography i 

German 3  4  4  i% 

English 3  3  3  ^'A 

Spanish I  i 

Italian I  i 

Industrial  Visits 3K 

Total,  36  36  36  36 

The  courses  in  each  of  the  three  offices  are  entrusted  to  a  .special 
profe.ssor.  Each  ptipil  nuist  be  present  at  all  the  courses  of  the  office  to 
which  he  belongs.  The  pupils  take  notes  during  the  lectures  of  the 
profe.s.sor,  then  study  the.se  notes  in  the  offices  and  con.sult  tlie  books  at 
their  di.spo.sal  ;  write  up  their  notes  carefully,  which  are  then  collected  by 
the  in.spector  to  be  submitted  to  the  professor. 

We  have  estimated  tliat  the  pupils  in  the  fir.st  office  have  a  total  of 
900  les.sons  in  the  course  of  tlie  .school  year  ;  those  of  the  second,  911;  those 


65 

of  the  third,  1002,  independent  of  the  lessons  in  accomplishments,  such 
as  dancing,  fencing,  etc. 

Commercial  and  Indusirial  /ixcinsions. — ^Jnst  as  industrial  instruc- 
tion can  only  gain  by  becoming  commercial,  so  commercial  instruction 
strengthens  itself  by  becoming  industrial,  consequently,  the  courses  in 
industrial  mechanics,  technology  and  raw  materials  assume  considerable 
importance  in  the  third  office,  and  in  order  to  re-enforce  the  theoretical 
descriptions  of  the  things  which  they  have  studied,  the  pupils  in  this 
office  make  frequent  visits,  under  the  conduct  of  an  inspector,  to  the 
principal  establishments  of  Paris  and  its  environs.  These  visits  are  the 
themes  of  reports  which  the  pupils  make  to  their  director  upon  each  of 
these  industries  ;  reports  which  require  careful  supplementary  studies  in 
technical  works  in  order  to  complete  the  notes  which  they  have  taken  on 
the  spot.  It  is  evident  that  these  weekly  lessons,  and  the  studies  by 
which  they  are  followed,  train  in  an  excellent  vray  the  obsen-ation  and 
judgment  of  the  pupil,  by  developing  at  the  same  time  his  theoretical 
and  practical  knowledge.  ' 

The  Chamber  of  Commerce,  always  in  pursuit  of  better  things,  has 
judged,  however,  that  these  Thursday  excursions  v/ere  not  sufficient  for 
the  purpose.  Certain  industries,  and,  indeed,  some  of  them  very 
important,  are  not  represented  in  the  environs  of  Paris  at  all,  notably  the 
extractive  and  textile  industries.  The  chamber  consequently  decided 
that  each  year,  beginning  with  1875,  the  pupils  of  the  third  office  should 
make  a  commercial  trip,  in  the  month  of  April,  under  the  conduct  of  the 
director  of  the  school.  The  expenses  of  this  trip,  which  amount  to  about 
200  francs,  must  be  defrayed  by  the  pupils.  This  trip  lasts  about 
three  weeks.  They  go  ordinarily  into  the  north  of  France  and  into 
Belgium,  where  the  students  stud}^  the  principal  factories  of  cotton  and 
wool  ;  the  important  coal  mines,  furnaces,  etc.  As  soon  as  they  have 
returned  to  the  school,  the  pupils  prepare  a  detailed  account  of  their  trip, 
which  must  be  submitted  on  a  given  day  to  the  director.  These  reports 
are  in  general  very  carefully  prepared.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce  in 
establishing  these  industrial  trips  decided  at  the  same  time  to  grant  to  the 
author  of  the  best  memoir,  under  the  name  of  "  Traveling  Scholarship," 
the  sum  of  1000  francs,  which  could  be  utilized  in  making  a  trip  either  in 
France  or  in  a  foreign  country  for  the  purpose  of  studying  some  questions 
proposed  to  him  by  the  Administrative  Council  of  the  school.  We  have 
examined  several  of  these  essays,  which  were  printed  on  account  of  their 
merit,  and  each  of  which  reveals  truly  remarkable  qualities  of  style,  of 
method  and  of  scientific  and  economic  observation.  The}-  give  marked 
evidence  of  the  solid  character  and  excellence  of  the  studies  pursued  by 
the  young  men  who  wrote  them.  The  titles  of  a  few  of  them  follow  : 
First,  a  report  upon  the  cotton  trade  of  England  ;  second,  a  report  upon 
the  iron  and  steel  trade  in  Great  Britain  ;  third,  a  report  upon  the  trade 
and  manufacture  of  linens  in  the  British  Isles  ;  fourth,  a  report  upon  the 
trade  and  manufacture  of  woolens  in  Hamburg,  Antwerp,  London  and 
Havre  ;  fifth,  a  report  upon  the  coal  trade  in  the  north  of  France,  Belgium 
and  England  ;  sixth,  a  report  upon  the  manufacture  and  trade  in  sugar  ; 
seventh,  a  report  upon  the  silk  trade  and  factories  in  France,  Italy  and 
Switzerland. 


66 

CHAPTER  IV. 

VARIOUS  EXAMINATIONS. 

Special  examiners  test  each  day  a  certain  number  of  the  pupils  in 
the  three  offices  upon  the  principal  branches  of  instruction.  General 
examinations  are  held  every  three  months  for  the  classification  of  the 
pupils,  and  immediately  thereafter  an  abstract  of  the  marks  which  each 
pupil  has  received  for  his  conduct  and  his  work  is  sent  to  the  parents. 
Reports  are,  moreover,  sent  each  month  to  the  parents. 

Final  Examinations. — The  final  examinations  are,  in  general,  con- 
ducted by  well-known  men,  such  as  lycvasseur  and  Frederic  Passy, 
members  of  the  institute ;  Alfred  Blanche,  former  councillor  of  the 
State  ;  Dr.  Gariel,  general  engineer  of  roads  and  bridges  and  member  of 
the  Academy  of  Medicine  ;  M.  Le  Coeuvre,  professor  at  the  Central 
School,  etc. 

The  pupils  are  examined  separately  in  the  presence  of  the  professor 
of  the  subject  to  which  the  examination  relates.  Each  examiner  has 
generalh'  to  test  one-twentieth  of  the  pupils  ;  he  employs  for  this  purpose 
about  a  day,  from  which  it  ma}'  be  seen  that  the  examinations  are  taken 
in  earnest. 

The  relative  importance  of  each  subject  of  instruction  is  determined 
by  a  co-efficient  by  which  the  mark  given  by  the  examiner  is  to  be  multi- 
plied. The  products  obtained  for  the  different  subjects  are  then  added 
together,  and  the  pupils  are  classified  according  to  the  number  of  points. 
Those  who  have  obtained  a  sum  total  corresponding  to  the  average  mark 
of  1 2  on  the  scale  of  20  receive  a  diploma  printed  on  parchment,  signed  by 
the  Minister  of  Commerce.  The  average  mark  of  12  is  not.  easy  to  obtain 
as  many  examiners  mark  very  low. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  importance  attached  to  each  subject,  we  repro- 
duce a  table  which  sensed  to  determine  the  classification  of  a  pupil  who 
obtained  the  first  diploma  in  1884. 

The  number  of  points  necessary  to  be  obtained  for  this  diploma  was 
2568,  which  corresponded  to  the  average  mark  of  12,  that  is  to  say  that 
it  is  equal  to  the  product  of  12  by  the  sum  of  the  co-efficient  214.  It 
was  the  first  time,  we  believe,  that  the  average  mark  of  1881  had  been 
reached. 

Sl'BJECT.  Mark.    Co-efficieut.    Product. 

Oerman 18*  18  324 

Jvnglish 16  16  256 

Arilhmetic    and   Algebra 19  20  380 

Industrial  Chemistry 18  14  252 

Accounting 19  18  342 

Drawing —  —  

Connnercial  Law 20  16  320 

I'olitical  Ivcononiy 20  14  280 

Pennianshi])       —  —  

Spanish  or  Italian 20  1 2  240 

Commercial  (Geography 18.25  18  328.50 

Commercial  History 20  14  280 

Raw  Materials 19  16  304 

Mechanics 16  10  160 

A])])lied  Physics 20  12  240 

Technology 20  16  320 

Total,  402650  ;   general  average,  1S.8111. 

♦Sec  tabic  al  toj)  of  p.  67. 


67 

Signification  of  marks  from  zero  to  20  as  follows  : 

Zero  (°) failure.        I  9,  10,  11      passable. 

I,  2 very  bad.    |  12,   13,  14 fair. 

3,  4,  5 '^^<i-  I  15.  16,  17 good. 

6,  7,  8 mediocre.  |  18,  19 very  good. 

20 perfect. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

VARIOUS  REWARDS  ;    MEANS  OF  DISCIPLINE  ;    DIPLOMAS  ;     CERTIFICATES  ; 

MEDALS. 

Diplomas. — Pupils  of  the  third  office  who  have  completed  their  studies 
and  passed  with  success  the  final  examinations  before  the  Council  of 
the  school,  receive  at  the  time  of  the  distribution  of  the  prizes  a  diploma 
of  capacity,  furnished  by  the  school  and  signed  by  the  Minister  of 
Commerce,  president  of  the  Council.  Only  good  pupils  pursue  their 
studies  through  the  third  office,  and  their  number  amounts  to  from 
sixteen  to  twent}^  on  the  average.  The  number  of  pupils  receiving 
diplomas  is  naturally  smaller.  The  table  below  shows  the  number  of 
graduates  since  1869  : 

1869  ....  15         1S73-74  ,   .   .   .13         1S77-7S  ....  19  1881-82  ....  10 

1S70-71    .   .    9         1874-75  ....  16         1878-79  ....  20  1882-S3  ....  14 

1871-72    .   .    8         1875-76  .   .   .   .  iS         1879-80  ....  19  1883-84  ....  14 

1872-73    .   .  17         1876-77  ....  17         1S80-81  ....  13  1S84-85  ....  II 

Being  a  total  of  233  graduates  out  of  a  total  of  288  candidates. 

Certificates. — The  pupils  of  the  third  office  who  are  not  able  to  obtain 
a  diploma  receive  a  certificate  of  studies,  signed  by  the  president  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  These  are  the  only  certificates  which  the  school 
recognizes  as  official  ;  both  certify  the  completion  of  the  course  ;  partial 
certificates  are  not  given. 

Afeda/s. — A  certain  number  of  medals  are  given  as  prizes  each  j-ear 
to  the  pupils  of  the  various  offices  by  the  Ministry  of  Commerce  ;  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  ;  the  Association  of  Commercial  Geography,  and 
the  Alumni  Association  of  the  School.  The  medals  are  in  gold,  silver  and 
bronze  for  the  third  office  ;  and  in  silver  and  bronze  for  the  second  and 
first  offices.  One  of  the  prizes  given  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  con- 
sists of  a  traveling  scholarship  of  1000  francs,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken  under  the  heading  ' '  scholarships. ' '  Besides  these  prizes  the 
"Stenographic  Institute  of  the  Two  Worlds"  gives  special  diplomas  to 
those  pupils  who  are  most  di.stingui.slied  in  the  study  of  stenography. 

General  Discipline. — The  general  regulations  of  the  school  are  very 
precise  ;  they  are  not  severe  btit  they  are  observed  with  care  and  firmness. 
Even  the  form  testifies  to  experience  acquired  in  the  long  history-  of  the 
school  ;  we  may  mention  prohibition  of  reading  works  relating  to  other 
than  the  subject  of  studies,  card  playing,  etc. 

The  pupils  who  have  obtained  permission  to  be  out  mu.st  return  by 
ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  during  the  winter,  and  half-past  ten  during  the 
summer.  Thej-  present  for  the  signature  of  the  inspector  an  exeat,  tipon 
which  they  indicate  the  name  and  residence  of  the  persons  whom  they 
wish  to  visit,  as  well  as  the  hour  of  arriving  and  departing  ;  this  exeat 
must  be  signed  by  the  parents  or  correspondents.     A  note  is  made  of  the 


68 

exact  hour  of  departure  and  the  hour  of  return  of  each  pupil  on  each 
occasion  that  he  leaves  the  building.  No  students  are  permitted  to  leave 
the  building  during  the  working  hours.  Pupils  who  do  not  return  at  the 
hour  prescribed  are  punished  in  the  following  way  :  For  a  tardiness  of 
from  five  to  ten  minutes  a  half  demerit  ;  from  fifteen  to  thirt}-  minutes  an 
entire  demerit.  The  pupil  besides  this  is  deprived  of  a  certain  number 
of  po.ssible  freedoms,  and  can  even  be  expelled.  The  conversation  room 
is  open  to  persons  authorized  to  visit  the  pupils  ever}-  day  from  eleven  in 
the  morning  until  half-past  twelve  ;  in  the  afternoon  from  two  to  half-past 
two  ;  and  from  five  to  seven  in  the  evening.  Pupils  cannot  be  visited 
except  in  the  conversation  room. 

There  are  also  special  rules  for  the  studies  ;  the  various  branches  of 
work  ;  the  movements"  within  the  building  ;  the  policing  of  dormitories 
and  other  parts  of  the  building  to  which  the  pupils  must  conform.  In 
the  regulations  in  regard  to  classes,  we  notice  that  ever}'  pupil  dismissed 
from  the  room  of  a  professor  is  given  an  entire  demerit,  and  the  general 
regulations  say  that  formal  refusal  to  obey  incurs  immediate  suspension 
from  the  school.  The  pupils  receive  special  blank-books  for  the  taking 
of  notes.  These  blank-books  are  inspected  at  each  recitation  by  the  pro- 
fessors and  their  assistants  ;  the  pupils  write  up  these  notes  for  certain 
courses.  All  bad  work  must  be  re-w^itten  on  Sunda3%  Any  neglect  of 
work  is  followed  by  a  corresponding  punishment.  During  the  term  exam- 
inations every  pupil  caught  in  copying  any  paper  is  marked  and  excluded 
from  competition  in  the  general  classification.  Under  the  regulations 
relating  to  studies  we  notice  further  some  wise  provisions  whose  rigid 
enforcement  develops  good  work  on  the  part  of  the  resident  pupils,  and 
assures  very  marked  superiority  over  the  day  pupils,  whose  work  suffers 
in  general  from  the  too  great  freedom  which  is  allowed  them  outside  of  the 
school. 

In  the  regulations  concerning  dormitories,  we  note  that  at  half-past 
five  in  the  morning  a  bell  is  rung  once,  as  a  signal  for  the  pupils  to  rise  ; 
at  six  o'clock  they  report  themselves  for  study,  and  every  pupil  coming  in 
late  incurs  a  punishment.     They  retire  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

The  Superior  School  of  Commerce  prescribes,  therefore,  for  its  resident 
pupils  what  would  be  for  a  workingman  a  real  day's  labor.  To  the  credit 
of  the  resident  pupils  it  should  be  noted  that  the  gold  medals,  the  great 
prizes,  the  traveling  scholarships,  are  almost  alwa3'S  taken  by  resident 
pupils. 

The  regulations  of  the  dining-hall  say,  that  at  the  sound  of  the  bell 
which  announces  lunch  or  dinner,  the  pupils  must  come  into  the  refecton,-, 
marching  two  by  two,  in  the  order  of  the  places  which  they  occu])y.  Kach 
master  conducts  the  pupils  of  his  office.  During  the  meal  the  inspector 
exercises  a  general  supervision. 

The  regulations  in  regard  to  .study  prescribe  that  each  student  while 
remaining  in  his  chamber  is  forl)idden  to  smoke,  or  to  read  works  not 
relating  to  his  studies.  The  regulations  concerning  recreation  say  that 
pupils  may  remain  in  the  office  or  may  go  into  the  librar}-.  They  are 
called  in  turn  and  l)y  groups  to  the  gynniasium,  to  the  dancing,  fencing 
and  riding  halls.  The  failure  to  ai)pear  in  one's  place  incurs  a  punish- 
ment. vSinging,  yelling,  whistling  and  shouting  are  forbidden,  and  we 
know  from  the  people  who  reside  near  the  school  that  the  conduct  of  the 
pupils  ill  this  resjiect  is  good.     We  may  add  that  tlie  .supervision  of  the 


69 

school  is  entrusted  to  five  supervising  masters,  an  under-inspector  and  an 
inspector,  whose  intelligent  and  devoted  assistance  aid  the  director  in  the 
firm,  fatherly  application  of  these  various  rules. 

Penalties. — The  punishments  which  may  be  inflicted  upon  pupils  are  : 
half-demerits  ;  demerits  and  suspension  from  the  school.  The  director 
and  inspector  are  alone  authorized  to  inflict  punishments,  upon  the  demand 
of  the  professors  or  supervising  masters.  The  notebooks  of  the  offices  and 
the  courses  ;  the  reports  of  conduct,  with  the  special  notes  of  the  inspector, 
are  submitted  each  evening  to  the  eyes  of  the  director,  and  give  him,  com- 
bined with  the  frequent  visits  in  the  various  offices  where  he  teaches  him- 
self, a  complete  knowledge  of  each  pupil,  whom  he  may  thus  guide 
according  to  his  peculiarities  and  needs. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ADMINISTRATION  ;    RECEIPTS  ;    EXPENSES. 

The  Superior  School  of  Commerce  is  administered,  as  we  have  already 
said,  by  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  vrhich  delegates  its  powers  to 
the  Council  of  Administration,  the  actual  composition  of  which  is  given 
below  :  President,  Jules  Piault  ;  Administrators,  Fortier-Beaulieu,  Jarlaud, 
Magnier,  Mignon,  Salmon,  Weber  ;  Director  of  the  School,  J.  Grelley. 

Finaneial  Condition  of  the  School. — Thanks  to  the  experience,  intelli- 
gence and  the  constant  efforts  emplo^'cd  by  the  members  of  its  Council 
of  Administration  and  by  the  management,  the  Superior  School  of  Com- 
merce, famous  for  the  solid  character  of  the  studies  wdiich  are  there 
pursued,  as  well  as  by  its  exemplary  discipline  and  the  comfort  enjoyed 
by  the  pupils,  is  in  an  excellent  financial  condition. 

Without  entering  into  too  great  detail  it  will  be  sufficient  to  note  that 
the  Paris  Chanaber  of  Commerce  purchased  the  clientele  and  the  furniture 
of  the  school  for  the  sum  of  1 20,000  francs,  in  1869,  though  it  has  expended 
since  that  time  almost  100,000  francs  on  buildings,  and,  that  not  onl}'  has 
the  school  always  paid  its  way,  but  it  has  extinguished  the  greater  portion 
of  the  original  outlay,  while  paying  an  annual  rental  of  25,000  francs  to 
the  owner  of  the  property  and  not  ceasing  to  give  excellent  accommoda- 
tions to  its  resident  and  da}^  pupils. 

The  budget  of  the  school  for  18S6  is  given  below.  This  l^udget, 
which  does  not  present  any  notable  differences  from  those  of  the  preceding 
years  will  sufl&ce  for  the  purpose  : 

RECEIPTS. 

From  term  fees  of  pupils 230,000  francs. 

E-XPKNSES. 

Cost  of  Administration 42,000  francs. 

Salaries  of  Professors 45, 000  " 

Food 70,000  " 

Heating  and  Lighting 8,500  " 

Annual  Rental      25,000  " 

Laundry 6,000  " 

Advertising 3,000  " 

Maintenance  and  Repairs S,ooo  " 

Taxes 600  " 

Payments  on  Indebtedness 12,400  " 

Various  Costs 9.500  " 

Total 230,000      " 


70 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PERSONNEI.   OF  THE   SCHOOL. 

The  personnel  of  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  is  composed  of 
professors,  examiners,  physician  and  instructors,  including  altogether 
some  seventy  persons.  Such  men  as  Levasseur,  Passy,  LeCoeuvre  figure 
in  the  list  of  examiners. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GENERAL   CONSIDERATIONS. 

If  we  ca.st  a  last  glance  upon  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce,  we 
shall  see  that  this  useful  institution,  which  has  ser\'ed  as  a  model  not  only 
for  France  but  for  foreign  countries,  as  well,  has  never  ceased  to  progress, 
without,  however,  leaving  the  line  which  was  traced  for  it  at  the  verj- 
beginning  by  men  skilled  in  practical  affairs,  celebrated  for  their  scientific 
labors,  and  who  knew  how  to  recognize  the  need  of  special  instruction  for 
youth  destined  for  the  commercial  career.  It  is  not  unimportant  to  note 
in  this  connection  that  this  school,  due  to  the  initiative  of  MM.  Brodard 
and  Legret,  the  School  Blanqui,  the  School  Gervais  de  Caen,  the  School 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  directed  b}-  polytechnicians,  has  never 
varied  from  its  commercial  origin.  It  has  remained  a  school  of  commerce, 
reserv^ed  for  the  preparation  of  superior  employes,  of  trained  merchants, 
of  bankers,  of  managers,  of  commercial  directors  for  industrial  establish- 
ments, etc.  The  school  has  constantly  endeavored  in  its  career,  with  a 
perseverance  and  unity  of  view,  worthy  of  remark,  to  unite  general  and 
special  instruction,  to  bind  them  one  to  the  other  in  such  a  way  as  to  con- 
stitute a  homogeneous  whole  at  once  classic  and  scientific,  whose  parts 
should  mutually  assist  and  complement  each  other,  whose  distinct  courses 
should  be  definitely  related  the  one  to  the  other,  and  form  a  whole  like  the 
various  chapters  of  a  book,  the  whole,  of  course,  remaining  alwaj-s 
improvable. 

One  fact  which  proves  the  intimate  and  systematic  connection  of  the 
courses  is,  that  those  pupils  who  come  out  of  the  first  office  are  ordinarily 
better  prepared  and  do  their  work  in  a  better  way  than  those,  who, 
pressed  by  lack  of  time  or  b}^  age,  enter  immediately  the  second  course.  One 
can  easily  understand  that  to  follow  with  advantage  the  lessons  of  the  two 
higher  offices,  there  is  no  better  preparation  than  that  of  the  school  itself 
for  the  reason  that  its  programs  of  instruction-are  combined  into  a  single 
whole  for  the  three  years,  of  which  the  first  parts  are  visibly  and  strongly 
attached  to  those  which  follow. 

It  is  in  the  second  office  that  the  instruction,  without  ceasing  to  be 
general,  becomes  more  vSpecial  by  the  courses  which  relate  directl)^  to  com- 
merce. Besides  this,  in  the  second  office  the  pupils  while  carrying  on  the 
study  of  our  own  language  perfect  themselves  in  the  study  of  German  and 
English  and  choose  one  of  the  southern  languages,  Italian  or  Spanish,  in 
.such  a  way  as  to  learii  finally  three  foreign  languages.  This  .study  of 
foreign  languages  (a  subject  to  which  one  has  certainly  up  to  the  present 
not  given  the  attention  wliich  it  deserves  either  in  schools  of  commerce  or 
other  .school.s; ,  is  facilitated  in   this  .school  of  the  rue  Amelot,  which  is  in 


i 


71 

a  certain  sense  international  in  character,  by  the  number  of  foreign  pupils? 
who  dail}'  assist  the  work  of  the  professors  by  their  conversations  with  their 
French  comrades. 

It  is  in  the  second  office  that  the  mathematical  spirit,  which  must  be 
at  the  basis  of  every  calculation,  commences  to  develop.  Here  reason 
takes  the  place  of  empirical  methods,  which  tend  to  arrest  the  development 
of  intelligence,  and  the  pupils  treat  all  the  (juestions  which  are  submitted 
to  them  in  a  rational  way.  Advancing  further,  the  professor  must  exer- 
cise them  in  the  practice  of  rapid  calculation  and  of  mental  calculation, 
whose  utility  in  business  is  incontestable.  The  mathematical  courses  are 
excellently  given  at  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce.  What  an  excel- 
lent book  MM.  Brasilier,  Margerie  or  Grelley  could  make  upon  financial 
and  commercial  mathematics  ! 

Mathematics  and  accounting,  the  pencil  and  the  pen,  complement 
each  the  other.  The  course  in  accounting  advances  in  the  second  office 
from  elementary'  work  to  practice.  Here  one  applies  the  principles  of 
accounting  to  commerce,  to  industry  and  to  banking.  The  professor 
instructs  in  the  different  usages  of  cities  and  markets  ;  his  course  becomes  a 
course  in  commerce,  correspondence  is  carried  on  in  several  languages. 
Then  there  is  commercial  geography,  a  science;  so  to  speak,  entirely 
modern,  and  yet  of  the  first  importance  in  economic  instruction. 

Parallel  with  these,  the  students  learn  in  the  course  on  the  histor}'  of 
commerce,  how  under  the  vigorous  and  fruitful  influences  of  commerce, 
the  natural  resources  ;  the  intellectual  wealth  of  the  nations  ;  their  political 
existence,  etc.,  arise  and  grow.  At  the  same  time  that  they  are  studj-ing 
the  facts  in  which  the  commercial  prosperity  shows  itself  at  different 
epochs  and  at  different  countries,  the  pupils  have  under  their  eyes,  in  the 
beautiful  museum  of  commercial  products,  the  natural  products  which  are 
the  bases  of  human  exchanges,  and  the  manufactured  products  which 
support  these  exchanges.  In  a  word,  it  is  by  the  combination  of  theoreti- 
cal and  practical  lessons  that  thej-  study  the  progress  of  commerce  and  of 
industry,  that  they  follow  its  various  stages  from  the  earliest  times  down 
to  the  present  ;  in  a  word,  that  they  learn  to  know  the  economic  evolution 
of  humanity. 

But  the  young  merchant  must  have  a  just  notion  of  his  commercial 
duties  and  his  commercial  rights.  He  must  also  be  instructed  in  the 
various  taxes  which  are  levied  on  merchandise,  on  exportations  and  impor- 
tations ;  he  must  understand  the  mechanism  of  the  tariff ;  he  must  be 
acquainted  with  our  treaties  of  commerce  with  the  great  nations  ;  finally, 
he  cannot  afford  to  be  ignorant  of  the  organization  of  our  sN'stem  of  taxes. 
He  must  understand  their  purpose,  their  necessity,  their  method  of 
a.ssessment  and  distribution.  The  courses  in  connnercial  and  maritime 
law,  supplemented  b}-  those  in  fiscal  and  tariff  legislation,  commercial 
statistics,  etc.,  fill  this  gap  in  his  education,  and  present  him  admirably 
well  prepared  for  the  course  in  political  economy  which  begins  in  the  third 
office,  and  is  the  philosophic  crown  of  the  commercial  sciences  taught  in 
the  school. 

In  this  body  of  useful  knowledge  the  physical  and  natural  sciences 
have  also  found  a  place  and  an  application.  Indeed,  how  could  one  give 
a  good  course  in  raw  materials  without  basing  it  upon  courses  in  natural 
history,  physics  and  chemi.stry  ?  In  the  same  way,  would  not  a  course  in 
technology  require  a  course  in  indu.strial  mechanics,  if  it  is  to  be  at  once 


72 

intelligible  and  frnitful  ?  All  these  branches  of  instruction  are  closely- 
related,  and  their  practical  administration  must  be  preceded  by  theoretical 
studies.  ISIoreover,  noblesse  oblige,  one  cannot  limit  one's  self  in  a  superioi 
school  to  the  examination,  pure  and  simple,  of  raw  materials  and  commer- 
cial products.  And  then  from  merely  practical  considerations  one  must 
teach  the  pupils  in  the  second  and  third  offices  the  chemical  compositions 
of  the  leading  substances,  the  physical  conditions  under  which  they  are 
produced,  and  the  mechanical  principles  employed  in  their  various  trans- 
formations. The  merchant  of  to-day,  like  the  manufacturer,  must  become 
acquainted  with  the  scientific  methods  which  clear  his  judgment,  develop 
his  intelligence  and  prepare  him  finally  to  discover  adulterations  either  in 
raw  materials  or  manufactured  products.  This  scientific  part  of  the 
instruction  of  the  school  is  reinforced  in  the  third  office  b}-  the  commercial 
and  industrial  visits  made  ever>'  Thursday  to  the  establishments  of  Paris 
and  its  environs,  as  well  as  by  the  annual  trip  to  the  north  of  France  and 
Belgium,  where  all  the  leading  industries  are  studied,  under  the  experi- 
enced guidance  of  the  director. 

Concljision. — To  determine  upon  the  different  courses  of'stud}-,  to 
arrange  the  programs  of  these  studies,  to  improve  them  without  ceasing" 
by  watching  over  their  intellio^ent  development  in  the  classes,  b}-  choosing 
skilled  professors  adapted  to  me  methods  of  instruction  and  b}'  maintain- 
ing with  a  firm  hand  the  necessary  discipline  in  every  direction  ;  all  this 
is  without  doubt  important.  But  this  alone  would  be  insufficient  to 
realize  the  ideas  of  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  to  preserve  the 
ancient  traditions  of  the  sort  of  a  school  which  we  have  been  discussing. 
Following  a  more  elevated  purpose  than  even  this,  the  object  of  this 
school  has  always  been  not  merely  the  creation  of  a  scientific  body  of 
commercial  instruction,  but  that  of  an  economic  education,  based  upon 
moral  principles.  ' '  Get  rich  "  is  a  motto  which  needs  numerous  correc- 
tions. A  merchant  must  be  twice  honest ;  honest  as  a  citizen,  and  honest  by 
profession.  If  nothing  is  more  difficult  in  the  world  than  to  get  money, 
nothing  is  easier  than  to  lose  that  which  one  has  gained  without  labor. 
Fortunes  which  grow  too  rapidly  disappear  of  themselves.  Those  which  are 
the  result  of  patient  labor  and  honesty  are  less  exposed  to  adversity,  because 
their  possessors,  more  prudent,  guard  them  more  carefully  from  danger. 

We  find  the  motto  of  this  school  summed  up  in  the  simple  words  : 
"Be  Good,  be  Laborious,  be  Persevering,"  pronounced  by  M.  Gustave 
Roy,  then  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  on  an  occasion  of 
di.stributing  the  prizes  of  the  school. 

"  Perseverance,"  he  added,  "  is  indispensable  to  him  who  wishes  to 
advance.  Set  before  yourself  a  clear,  well-defined  end,  let  nothing  turn 
you  from  it.  Be  hone.st,  be  led  on  every  occasion  by  that  inward  light 
which  is  called  'conscience.'  Consult  it,  and  when  you  ask  it,  if  it 
hesitates,  abstain.  For  in  all  which  is  right,  loyal  and  honest  it  will  never, 
])clieve  me,  show  any  hesitation.  In  regulating  your  lives  in  this  way 
you  will  find  your  reward  in  the  confidence,  the  consideration,  and  the 
credit  which  you  will  inspire.  A  merchant  should  be  honest  from  calcula- 
tion, if  not  from  the  sense  of  duty." 

To  these  counsels,  full  of  wisdom  ;  to  these  words  marked  with  the 
.seal  of  experience,  M.  Grellcy,  director  of  the  .school,  added  the  following  : 

"  A  condition  essential  to  succe.ss  in  business,  I  do  not  fear  to  say  it, 
is   ambition.      The  merclianl  or   the  manufacturer,    who   desires  only  a 


73 

modest  subsistence,  lacks  energy,  lacks  the  great  fire  necessary  to  success. 
In  this  age  of  steam  and  electricity  there  is  no  place  for  the  indolent. 
Success  is  for  those  who,  to  the  two  essential  qualities  of  order  and  econ- 
omy, add  the  love  of  labor,  and  the  firm  resolution  to  succeed."  And  he 
added  in  words  not  less  excellent,  "  I  would  warn  you  against  a  fault 
unhappily  too  common  with  young  people  who  are  just  starting  out  in 
life.  Many  people  have  what  I  should  call  a  '  clerical '  character  ;  they 
arrive  in  the  morning  at  their  labor  :  do  exactly  that  which  they  are 
directed  to  do  ;  and  wait  patiently  for  that  which  they  call  the  hour  of 
'  liberty  '  when  evening  comes.  For  these  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
success  ;  they  will  remain  employes  throughout  their  lives.  The  employe 
who  wishes  to  succeed  must  devote  himself  without  ceasing  to  the  affairs 
which  are  entrusted  to  him  ;  he  must  treat  them  as  his  own  ;  he  must  go 
before  the  hour  of  beginning  work,  and  finish  up  in  the  evening  that 
which  he  has  not  been  able  to  do  in  the  day  time.  This  sort  of  a  man  is 
sure  to  succeed,  if  he  adds  to  these  qualities  order  and  economy." 

Comincrce  oblige  is  then  the  motto  of  this  .school.  Honesty  is  a  real 
force  like  order,  economy  and  persevering  labor. 

The  commerce  of  France  can  only  increase  b\'  the  study  and  practice 
of  probity,  and  it  is  through  such  a  school  as  this  that  such  ideas  will 
pass  into  commercial  life,  and  that  an  experimental  demonstration  will  be 
made  that  probity  is  synonymous  with  skill  and  success. 

if.  -)f.  -)^  •^■:.  '^  -^C- 

To  sum  up  the  characteristics  of  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  : 
It  has  based  commercial  instruction  upon  solid  scientific  instruction. 
From  this  point  of  view  the  programs  of  this  school  are  the  most  complete 
of  any  which  we  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing.  A  great  part  of  the 
problem  of  commercial  instruction  appears  then  to  us  to  have  been  solved 
at  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Paris,  which  has  had  the  honor 
of  training,  since  its  foundation,  more  than  six  thousand  financiers,  manu- 
facturers, superior  employes,  etc.,  .scattered  throughout  all  the  countries 
of  the  world,  and  among  whom  we  could  name  a  large  number  of  eminent 
men  in  various  departments. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    ALUMNI   ASSOCIATION   OF  THE   SUPERIOR  SCHOOL  OF   COMMERCE. 

Origin. — Various  graduates  of  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce 
have  attempted  from  time  to  time  to  create  an  association  among  the 
alumni  of  this  ancient  school.  But  it  was  very  difficult  to  reknit  the 
broken  threads  among  the  members  of  so  many  generations,  who  had 
■experienced  so  many  different  fortunes,  and  were  .scattered,  since  the 
foundation  of  the  school  in  1820,  throughout  the  entire  commercial  world. 

In  1872,  a  year  which  witnessed  the  rise  of  an  extremely  favorable 
movement  to  schools  of  commerce,  the  stiidents  of  the  third  office  finally 
succeeded  in  forming  a  society.  Guided  by  certain  former  graduates, 
among  whom  was  the  eminent  economist,  Joseph  Garnier,  and  aided  by 
the  counsel  of  their  first  president,  M.  Paul  Lafitte.  they  succeeded  in 
creating  a  society  the  utility  of  whose  work  we  are  just  beginning  to 
appreciate. 


74 

Set'vkes  and  Progress. — The  association,  founded  by  seventeen 
members,  includes  to-day  more  than  six  hundred  and  fifty  members.  The 
following  table  shows  the  annual  increase  : 

1872 77  members       1S79    •    ■  • 47°  members 

1873 225  "  1S80 499 

1874 288  "  1S81 520 

1875 316  "  1882 575 

1876 365  "  1883 594 

1877 414  '■  1884 616        " 

1878 454  "  18S5 633 

The  original  association  has  not  undergoiie  any  notable  change,  but 
each  year  has  marked,  so  to  speak,  a  stage  in  the  moral  development  of 
the  society.  The  purpose  of  the  union  is  :  First,  to  cultivate  the  friendly 
relations  formed  at  the  school ;  second,  to  utilize  the  relations  thus  created 
for  the  development  of  commerce  and  industry  ;  third,  to  aid  former  pupils 
by  assisting  them  after  graduation  and  facilitating  their  finding  of  posi- 
tions ;  fourth,  to  assist  unfortunate  comrades.  The  former  pupils  of  the 
school  and  pupils  in  the  third  office  may  be  members  of  the  union.  The 
annual  fee  is  ten  francs  ;  one  may  become  a  life  member  by  paj-ing  at  one 
time  the  sum  of  100  francs.  The  title  of  "  donor  ' '  is  given  to  those  who 
pay  200  francs  at  one  time. 

The  management  is  composed  of  twelve  graduate  members  and  one 
member  from  the  third  office.  It  regulates  the  disposition  of  the  funds  ;, 
decides  upon  requests  for  assistance  ;  and  supervises  the  publications  of 
the  society.  From  the  first  3'ear  of  its  organization  the  union  has  granted 
an  annual  prize  in  political  economy  for  the  best  pupil  in  each  subject. 

At  its  instigation  a  traveling  scholarship  was  founded  b>'  the  Paris 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  given  to  a  graduate  of  the  third  year. 

The  union  also  names  corresponding  members  at  important  points  in 
various  parts  of  the  earth,  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  commercial  infor- 
mation. These  correspondents  also  serve  as  patrons  to  those  members  of 
the  societ}^  who  have  newly  come  to  their  respective  places. 

In  1876  a  quarterl}^ />////tV/;^  was  established,  which  .soon  became  very 
prosperous,  and  furnished  to  the  members  of  the  society  interesting  papers 
upon  economic  .subjects,  as  well  as  upon  facts  relating  to  the  society.  This 
publication  has  recently  become  a  monthl5^  The  societj'  has  published, 
besides,  a  year  book,  since  it  was  founded.  By  the  publication  of  its 
Bulletin  the  union  has  established  connections  with  various  learned  and 
commercial  societies,  notably  the  Geographical  Society  ;  the  Society  of 
Geographical  Commerce  at  Paris  ;  the  Scientific  Society  of  France  ;  the 
Alumni  vSociety  of  the  School  of  Arts  and  Metiers. 

The  banquet,  established  at  the  beginning  of  the  .society,  assembles, 
each  year  the  most  devoted  members  of  the  union.  In  1882  its  president, 
N.  Detre,  invited  the  presidents  of  similar  societies  in  Lyons,  Rouen  and 
Havre,  founded  upon  the  model  of  that  of  Paris,  to  take  part  in  the 
annual  banquet  of  the  union  in  Paris,  or  to  send  delegates.  It  was 
decided  at  this  banquet  to  organize  a  .syndicate  of  the  Alumni  Society  of 
the  Superior  Schools  of  Commerce  in  France,  which  furni.shes  a  new  proof 
that  there  is  utility  1)eyond  the  commercial  in  such  societies. 

The  presidency  of  tlie  Syndicate  of  the  Alumni  ySociety  is  vested  in 
the  president  of  the  Paris  Union.  It  was  in  this  d()ul)le  capacity  that  M. 
Deligny  .submitted  in  March,  1S84,  the  demand  for  a  new  .syndical  grouping 


75 

Accompanied  by  M.  Pathier,  a  former  president,  and  M.  Rene  Le  Roy, 
vice  president  of  the  union,  M.  Deligny  was  called  to  testify  before  a 
Parliamentary  Investigating  Committee,  consisting  of  forty-four  members. 
He  insisted  strongly  upon  the  necessity  of  giving  to  connnercial  instruc- 
tion equal  advantages  to  those  governmental  schools  which  are  endowed 
by  the  government. 

Representations  were  also  made  to  the  Ministry  of  Marine  to  obtain 
traveling  scholarships  under  the  same  conditions  as  the  society  for  the 
encouragement  of  connnerce  and  industry,  and  M.  Deligny  received  a 
formal  promise  that  the  State  would  subscribe  a  sum  equal  to  that  which 
should  be  subscribed  for  this  purpose  b}'  the  societies  interested. 

In  Februar}^  1885,  M.  Rouvier,  INIinisterof  Commerce,  accepted  the 
presidency  of  the  banquet  of  the  union,  and  promised  his  high  assistance 
to  the  various  purposes  pursued  by  the  syndicate. 

Among  the  numerous  evidences  of  the  activity  of  this  Alunnii  Society 
we  cite  further  the  foundation  of  the  Conference  Adolph  Blanqui,  a 
society  for  commercial  and  industrial  study,  whose  purpose  is  to  develop 
among  the  future  graduates  the  taste  for  further  study  and  the  verbal  dis- 
cussion of  questions  relating  to  commerce  and  industry. 

The  Tribunal  of  Paris  appreciating  the  good  purpose  of  the  Confer- 
ence Blanqui  offered  it  a  place  of  meeting,  which  the  Alumni  Society  did 
not  hesitate  to  accept  on  behalf  of  the  conference. 

Faithful  to  its  purpose  and  full  of  solicitude  for  its  members,  the  society 
assists  them,  aids  them,  either  in  their  search  for  positions  or  in  their  com- 
mercial careers,  by  means  of  the  numerous  relations  which  are  maintained 
through  the  various  reunions,  by  the  publication  of  its  Annual  and  by  its 
Bidletm,  and,  finally,  if  misfortune  overtakes  one  of  its  members,  the 
society  is  always  on  hand.  Moreover,  the  last  word  in  regard  to  this 
brotherly  side  of  the  society  has  not  been  said.  M.  Deligny  proposed  the 
organization  of  a  circle  wdiicli  should  increase  still  more  the  development 
of  friendly  and  commercial  relations,  and  M.  Detre  then  proposed  more 
material  reunions  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  publication  of  the  Bulletin,  as  stated  above,  has  just  become  a 
monthly.  Finally,  we  maj^  say  that  M.  Rene  Le  Roy,  the  present  presi- 
dent of  the  society,  has  submitted  to  the  management  a  scheme  already 
carried  out  in  part  ;  to  form  a  sort  of  benefit  treasury-  in  favor  of  comrades 
who  are  momentarily  embarrassed  in  their  business  affairs. 


2.    THE  SCHOOL  OF  HIGHER  COMMERCIAL  STUDIES  IN  PARIS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    FOUNDATION   OF   THE   SCHOOL    AND     ITS    SUBSEQUENT 

DEVELOPMENT. 

The  first  idea  of  the  creation  of  this  school  should  be  ascribed  to  the 
Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  which  as  early  as  1S66  took  up  the  question 
of  organizing  an  establishment  of  Higher  Commercial  Instruction,  com- 
plementary to  its  Higher  Primar}-  In.stitution  in  the  Avenue  Trudaine. 
In  1867  the  death  of  Mr.  Gervais  of  Caen,  proprietor  and  director  of  the 


76 

Superior  School  of  Commerce,  turned  the  attention  of  the  chamber  from 
the  idea  of  estabhshing  a  school,  and  fixed  it  upon  the  purchase  of  an 
establishment  which  alreadj-  enjoj-ed  a  universal  reputation,  and  which 
had  become  a  successful  business  enterprise  in  the  hands  of  its  director. 

We  have  described  in  the  preceding  pages  how  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  got  possession  of  the  old  school  of  Adolph  Blanqui,  and  with 
what  satisfactory  results. 

The  idea  of  establishing  a  so-called  ' '  School  of  Higher  Commercial 
Studies"  was,  however,  simpl}'  put  off  by  this  move  and  not  abandoned. 
It  was  a  subject  of  consideration  under  the  presidency  of  M.  Houette, 
then  under  that  of  Guibal,  but  it  was  under  the  presidency  of  M.  Gus- 
tave  Roy  that  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  undertook  to  solve  all  the 
diflS-Culties  involved  in  so  costly  and  important  a  foundation. 

We  owe  it  to  historical  truth  to  saj'  that  the  project  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  met  only  a  feeble  response  from  public  opinion  ;  a  thing 
which  should  not  be  an  occasion  of  surprise,  considering  the  general  feel- 
ing in  respect  to  everj-thing  concerning  commercial  studies,  and  the 
marked  indifference  which  our  governments,  imbued  with  the  old  univer- 
sity spirit,  have  showed  down  to  the  ver}-  present  in  regard  to  Commer- 
cial Instruction.  Through  a  learned  society,  the  Oriental  Athenaeum  of 
Paris,  an  endeavor  was  made  to  stir  up  an  interest  in  this  question  in 
1875,  starting  from  the  principle  that  the  business  relations  of  nations  are 
de\'eloped  as  a  direct  consequence  of  the  elevation^  of  their  intellectual 
level.  This  society  in  the  Provincial  Session  at  St.  Etienne  discussed  the 
creation  in  France  of  an  institution  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies. 
Besides  this,  the  National  Society  in  L^'ons,  sharing  in  the  same  view, 
resolved  to  examine  this  question  from  all  aspects  by  examining  as  fully  as 
possible  into  the  details  of  its  execution.  It  even  named  a  special  com- 
mission for  the  purpose  of  drawing  up  a  set  of  questions  to  be  submitted 
to  eminent  men  at  home  and  abroad. 

Without  entering  into  further  details,  we  must  limit  ourselves  to 
calling  attention  to  the  general  tenor  of  the  discussion  in  the  Oriental 
Athenaeum  of  Paris,  and  to  certain  interesting  points  raised  by  the  Com- 
mission of  Inquiry. 

After  having  expressed  the  view  that  a  Superior  Institute  of  Com- 
merce ought  to  be  founded  in  France  for  the  purpose  of  offering  to  the 
graduates  of  the  commercial  schools,  to  the  consulate  cadets,  and  also 
to  other  young  people  of  adequate  preliminary  education,  the  comple- 
mentarj-  knowledge  necessary  to  create  and  consolidate  new  relations  with 
foreign  merchants,  the  Oriental  Athenaeum  defined  more  especially  the 
following  as  the  necessary  complement  to  these  studies  : 

First,  comparative  legislation  of  different  nations  ;  second,  instruc- 
tion in  the  languages  most  used  in  the  great  commercial  centres  of  Asia, 
India,  Cliina  and  Japan  ;  tliird,  courses  of  philosophy  and  aesthetics  as 
applied  to  commerce,  showing  tlie  influence  of  commerce  upon  the  civili- 
zation, the  ideas,  manners  and  power  of  a  country,  and  intended  to 
develop  in  tlie  students  those  intellectual  and  moral  qualities  which  are 
capable  of  dignifying  the  professional  merchant. 

The  Oriental  Athenaeum  demanded  in  addition  a  course  in  the  history 
of  commerce  among  all  pef)ples,  ancient  and  modern  ;  a  complementary 
course  in  geography,  comprising  agricultural,  industrial,  mineral  and 
commercial  .statistics  of  all  countries ;    a  study  of  the  present  treaties  of 


77 

commerce  ;  a  complete  study  of  the  means  of  transportation  on  land  and 
water,  as  also  of  all  the  means  of  correspondence,  such  as  the  post,  tele- 
graph, etc.  It  also  raised  the  question  whether  one  could  not  insist  that 
the  government  should  demand  of  candidates  for  consulships  the 
diploma  cf  the  Superior  Institute  of  Connnerce.  Finally  it  raised  the 
question  whether  this  institution  ought  to  be  organi/.ed  like  the  Central 
School  of  Paris,  which  takes  its  pupils  throughout  the  entire  day,  or 
whether  it  would  not  be  better  if  the  pupils  were  obliged  to  be  present 
only  at  particular  courses,  as  in  the  faculties  of  law  and  medicine.  Also 
what  would  be  the  best  means  of  controlling  and  stimulating  the  work  of  the 
pupils  ;  how  long  the  course  should  be  ;  wdiether  the  minimum  age  for 
admission  should  be  fixed  at  eighteen  ;  whether  the  students  provided 
with  a  diploma  at  the  Superior  School  should  be  admitted  without  exam- 
ination ;  and  whether  the  Degree  of  Bachelor  should  be  accepted  from 
those  pupils  not  provided  with  such  a  diploma  ;  what  cit}'  of  France 
would  be  best  adapted  for  the  location  of  such  a  school  ;  what  capital 
would  be  rec^uired  ;  from  what  source  it  could  be  drawn,  etc. 

On  the  other  hand  the  National  Society  of  Education  at  Lyons  pro- 
prosed  the  following  questions  : 

First,  whether  an  institute  of  higher  commercial  studies  would  be  a 
useful  and  timely  complement  to  the  Superior  Schools  of  Commerce  ; 
second,  whether  this  institution  could  assist  in  completing  the  instruction 
of  consulate  cadets  and  commercial  agents  attached  to  diplomatic  missions  ; 
third,  whether  the  institution  should  be  founded  on  the  principle  of 
freedom  of  superior  instruction,  or  whether  they  should  demand  that  the 
State  should  establish  it,  or  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  adopt  the 
mixed  system,  in  which  the  State  should  come  to  the  aidof  private  initiative. 
This  society  closed  its  report  by  expressing  the  following  view  :  ' '  The 
National  Society  of  Education  at  Lyons  having  heard  the  report  of  the 
commission  upon  the  proposal  to  found  in  France  an  in.stitute  of  higher 
commercial  studies,  believing  that  this  new  organ  of  instruction  would 
form  a  happy  and  even  necessary  complement  to  the  actual  organization 
of  superior  schools  of  commerce ;  considering  further  that  it  would 
contribute  powerfully  to  enlarge,  elevate  and  dignify  the  respective  com- 
mercial and  administrative  callings  ;  considering  that  the  principle  of  the 
plan  is  not  denied  and  that  its  timeliness  is  sufficiently  well  established  by 
the  facts  produced  in  the  report,  and  that  its  realization  is  not  beyond 
the  efforts  of  private  initiative,  hereby  adopts  the  report  of  the  com- 
mission, and  charges  its  president  with  communicating  the  same  to 
each  of  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  in  Paris,  Lyons  and  Marseilles,  with 
the  request  to  consult  upon  the  means  of  ensuring  the  execution  of  the 
project." 

The  discussion  of  the  various  points  raised  by  the  members  of  the 
Oriental  Athenaeum  of  Paris  and  those  of  the  National  Societj-  of  Educa- 
tion at  Lyons,  each  one  of  wiiich  threw  some  light  upon  the  question, 
would  show  it  to  be  very  complex.  Even,-thing  goes  to  show  that  the 
view  expressed  by  the  Congress  of  St  fitienne  ;  the  list  of  questions  which 
were  prepared  ;  the  final  report  upon  the  answers  obtained  to  the  questions, 
and  the  monograph  by  M.  L.  Desgrands,  of  Lyons,  upon  the  same  question, 
have  contributed  to  persuade  the  Chamber  of  Paris  to  take  the  initiative 
in  the  agitation  and  to  put  in  execution  with  its  own  resources  a  project 
which  it  had  considered  for  so  long  a  time. 


FOUNDATION   OF   THE   SCHOOL. 

In  the  sessions  of  the  eighth  of  May  and  the  twentj^-fourth  of  July, 
1878,  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  sketched  out  the  plan  of  the 
School  for  Higher  Commercial  Studies,  and  decided  upon  the  underl3'ing 
principles.  Shortly  after  the  chamber  named  a  commission  composed  of 
Messrs.  Jacques  Siegfried,  Focillon  and  Michau,  for  the  purpose  of  prepar- 
ing plans  of  construction  for  the  school,  and  what  was  still  more  important, 
its  program  of  studies,  a  function  which  could  not  have  been  confided  to 
more  competent  men. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  Ma}^  1880,  a  decree  authorized  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  to  borrow  the  necessary  money  for  the  construction  of  the 
school.  Finally,  the  inauguration  of  the  new  establishment  took  place 
on  the  fourth  of  December,  1881,  in  the  great  amphitheatre  of  the  school 
under  the  presidency  of  M.  Gustave  Roy,  President  of  the  Paris  Chamber 
of  Commerce.  There  were  also  present  Messrs.  Leon  Sa}',  President  of 
the  Senate  ;  Rouvier,  Minister  of  Commerce  and  of  the  Colonies,  and 
Allain  Targe,  Minister  of  Finances ;  and  the  whole  Paris  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  justly  proud  of  having  expended  over  two  millions  with  a 
liberal  hand  in  con.structing  a  .school  of  commerce,  the  most  beautiful,  the 
most  .spacious,  the  best  arranged  possible  ;  for  which  .school  its  members 
were  happy  to  do  the  honors  to  the  parliamentary,  administrative, 
industrial  and  commercial  interests  of  the  countr}-. 

a.  Purpose  of  the  School. — The  Paris  Chamber  of  Conmierce,  it  is 
certain,  had  no  intention  to  create  a  competitor  to  its  own  Superior  School 
of  Commerce  in  rue  Amelot,  but  desired  to  found  an  establishment  of 
another  type,  a  sort  of  faculty  or  central  school  of  commerce,  to  which, 
as  M.  Gustave  Roy  said  on  the  day  of  inauguration,  the  purpose  was  to 
attract  young  men  of  famih*  who  had  complied  their  cla.ssical  studies. 
We  find,  moreover,  that  the  purpose  of  the  foundation  of  this  .school  is 
well  defined  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  itself  in  the  report  which  it  pre- 
sented on  the  fifteenth  of  February,  1879,  to  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture 
and  Commerce,  and  in  which  it  expres.sed  itself  on  this  point  as  follows  : 

"The  school  is  destined,  in  the  thought  of  the  chamber,  to  give 
supplementary  instruction  to  the  children  of  the  bourgeoisie,  who  propose 
upon  completing  the  college  to  take  up  a  commercial  career.  The  purpose 
of  the  chamber  is  to  give  to  such  young  men  the  practical  notions  of  the 
means  by  which  order  and  clearness  are  brought  into  the  commercial 
world,  whose  general  mechanism  will  have  been  explained  to  them  before- 
hand, and  to  impress  a  lofty  character  upon  that  in.struction  which 
comprehends  those  modern  .sciences  underlying  the  necessities  of  inter- 
national commerce. "  According  to  the  same  report  the  chamber  propo.sed 
to  organize  an  e.stabli.shment  capable  of  caring  for  from  250  to  500  pupils. 
The  first  of  these  figures  would  permit  it  to  cover  its  expenses  at  the  price 
of  1000  francs  a  year  per  pupil ;  the  .second  would  assure  it  the  nece.ssarj' 
.supplementary  resources  for  new  growth,  and  would  fnrni.sh  it  an  excess 
of  receipts  which  could  be  devoted  to  further  improvements. 

According  to  these  anticipations,  a  little  o]:)timistic,  the  necessary 
grounds  for  the  construction  of  tlie  .school  were  estimated  to  be  about  5000 
square  metres. 

b.  sanation  of  the  Srhool. — The  vSchool  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies 
is  situated  at  108   Boulevard   Malcshcrbes,  and  occupies  a  site  containing 


7y 

5910.99  metres,  which  the  chamber  purchased  at  the  price  of  517,000 
francs.  Apropos  of  this  action  and  in  response  to  certain  criticisms  which 
have  been  made  on  the  wasteful  extravagance  of  the  chamber  in  the 
purchase  of  such  expensive  grounds,  it  must  be  said  that  the  acquisition 
of  this  site  was  not  by  any  means  in  itself  a  bad  stroke  of  business,  for  at 
the  present  hour  it  is  worth  at  least  three  times  that  sum,  and  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  in  fifty  years,  the  epoch  at  which  the  money 
borrowed  must  be  repaid,  the  site  will  be  worth  at  least  2,000,000  francs. 
It  will  be  sufficient  then  for  the  school  to  cover  its  expenses  during  this 
period,  for  the  chamber  to  have  profited  finally  to  the  amount  of  two 
millions  on  this  operation,  and  for  its  generous  action  to  be  converted  into 
a  profitable  stroke  of  business.     This  view  is  correct  in  our  opinion. 

The  magnificent  buildings  of  the  school,  the  construction  of  which  was 
open  to  general  competition,  embrace  besides  the  rooms  of  admini.stration, 
the  dwellings  of  the  director,  of  the  instructors  of  studies,  etc.,  two  grand 
amphitheatres,  twelve  study  halls  or  offices,  ten  examination  halls,  the 
museum  of  products,  the  laboratory,  the  library,  business  hall,  a  large 
refectory  for  three  hundred  pupils,  twenty-four  spacious  and  well- 
ventilated  chambers  for  resident  students,  a  hall  for  sports,  large  courts, 
etc. 

c.  Dcvelopinejit  of  the  School. — The  School  of  Higher  Commercial 
Studies  was  opened  on  the  third  of  November,  1881.  The  increase  in  the 
number  of  students  may  be  seen  from  the  following  table  : 

17  of  which  were  bachelors.* 

35 
38 

45  •       " 
51 

This  table  indicates  a  steady  growth  which  will  certainly  increase, 
owing  to  the  establishment  of  the  preparatory  division,  a  creation  some- 
what in  contradiction,  it  is  true,  with  the  title  of  the  school,  but  which 
will  certainly  be  favorable  to  an  increase  of  attendance. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  number  of  foreigners  has  not  increased  in 
proportion  to  the  growth  of  attendance.  There  may  be  different  opinions 
upon  this  subject.  We  believe  that  the  presence  of  foreign  pupils  in  the 
French  School  of  Commerce,  while  it  shows  that  the  reputation  of  the 
school  is  extended  beyond  our  frontiers,  is  also  a  condition  peculiarly 
favorable  to  instruction  in  foreign  languages. 

The  pupils  for  the  school  year  1885-86  were  classified  as  follows  : 
preparatory,  15  ;  first  year,  67  ;  second  year,  46. 

Finally,  the  number  of  the  pupils  at  the  Superior  School  of  rue 
Amelot,  not  having  been  affected  by  the  creation  of  the  School  of  Higher 
Commercial  Studies,  at  least  to  the  extent  which  one  might  have  feared, 
we  conclude  that  a  real  service  has  been  rendered  to  the  development  of 
our  higher  commercial  instruction,  which  was  in  danger  of  being  hindered 
from  having  no  place  in  the  only  Superior  School  which  the  capital  of 
France  possessed.  In  order  to  judge  wisely  of  things  it  is  necessar>-  to 
take  a  high  point  of  view,  and  this  is  what  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce has  done  in  showing  itself  resolved  to  wait  patiently  for  the  definite 
results  which  it  pursues  and  which  will  be  the  work  of  time  and  of  steady 
eflfort,  and  of  the  growth  of  ideas. 

*  Graduates  of  lyce6s. 


I 88 I -82  . 

50  pupils. 

1882-83  . 

92       " 

1883-84  . 

.  108       " 

1884-85  . 

117       " 

1885-S6  . 

128       " 

10  forcinfiiers. 

40  French, 

13 

79 

10 

98         " 

8 

109         " 

10         " 

118 

80 
CHAPTER  II. 

SCHOLARSHIPS  ;    GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   SCHOOL. 

Besides  those  young  people  of  family,  who,  having  completed  their 
studies,  enter  upon  active  work,  preferring  labor  to  idleness,  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  desired  to  see  in  this  school  also  those,  who  less  favored  b}- 
fortune,  have  the  intelligence,  courage  and  the  will  to  advance.  It  is 
certain  that  the  mixture  of  these  two  elements  and  the  good  fellowship 
that  is  the  consequence  of  intercourse  between  the  classes,  have  alwa^'s 
produced  the  best  results. 

Scholarships  and  semi-scholarships  have  consequently  been  asked  for 
and  obtained  for  the  benefit  of  the  new  school.  The  founders  are  numer- 
ous. The  ISIinistry  of  Commerce,  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  have 
established  ten  each  ;  one  or  more  each  have  been  founded  by  the 
following  : 

L,e  Conseil  municipal  de  Paris,  la  Banque  de  France,  le  Credit  Fon- 
cier,  le  Comptoir  d'FvSCompte,  la  Societe  Generale,  le  Credit  Lyonnais, 
le  Credit  Industriel  et  Commercial,  la  Chambre  S3-ndicale  des  agents  de 
change,  1' Union  des  Banquiers  de  Paris  et  de  la  province,  la  Campagnie 
Generale  des  Omnibus,  la  Campagnie  Translantique,  la  Campagnie  du 
Gaz,  le  Gouvernment  de  la  Guadeloupe,  le  Department  de  la  Seine-Inferi- 
eure,  la  Chambre  de  Commerce  de  Phillipeville,  MM.  Gustave  Roy,  Dietz- 
Monnin,  A.  Poirier,  Jacques  Siegfried,  Cli.  Noel,  Fould,  I^ebaudy,  Couste, 
Houette,  Pestel,  and  finally,  the  banking  house  of  the  Rothschild  brothers 
and  IMadam  Menier,  who  have  given  the  capital  for  a  perpetual  scholar- 
ship, producing  a  3'early  income  of  1000  francs. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Phillipe- 
ville established  a  scholarship.  This  is  an  example  which  we  are  happ}' 
to  mention  in  this  place.  We  wish  that  all  the  chambers  of  commerce 
would  understand  that  it  is  their  duty  to  encourage  and  assist  commercial 
instruction  by  the  establishment  of  scholarships  in  the  existing  schools 
of  commerce,  while  waiting  for  that  which  would  be  preferable,  namel3\ 
the  establishment  of  new  schools  of  commerce  in  their  own  cities. 

The  J  ^arious  Kinds  of  ScJioIarships. — The  school  grants  official 
scholarships,  private  scholarships,  and  remissions  of  tuition.  The  official 
scholarships  granted  by  the  State  and  the  city  of  Paris,  are  so-called 
external  scholarships,  open  to  general  competition  for  those  young  people 
whose  parents  are  unable  to  pay  the  price  of  board.  The  prize  scholar- 
ships are  assigned  by  the  founders  to  the  candidates  tliey  designate.  Thc 
remissions  of  tuition  are  granted  by  the  administrators  of  the  school  ;  they 
vary  from  250  to  500  francs. 

The  price  of  board  at  the  school,  including  tuition,  is  2800  francs  for 
the  resident  students  ;  1300  francs  for  the  so-called  "  half- residents  "  or 
day  pupils.  livery  pupil  who  has  obtained  an  external  scholarship  can 
become  a  resident  pupil  by  the  payment  of  1800  francs.  iCvery  pupil  who 
has  obtained  a  remission  of  500  francs  can  become  a  resident  pupil  by  the 
payment  of  2300  francs,  or  a  day  ])upil  by  the  payment  of  800  francs, 
livery  pupil  who  has  obtained  a  remission  of  250  francs  can  become  a 
resident  pupil  by  the  pa>nicnt  of  2550  francs,  or  can  pursue  the  studies 
as  a  day  pupil  b}'  the  pa_\inent  of  1050  francs. 

Goveriuucnt  or  City  Scholarships. — Those  young  men,  whether  bach- 
elors, /.  c,  graduates  of  lycees,  or  not,  who  desire  to  obtain  a  government 


81 

or  city  scholarship  are  compelled  to  enter  into  competition.  The  candi- 
dates must  be  of  French  birth,  and  have  completed  their  sixteenth  year 
at  the  time  of  the  examination.  Candidates  for  the  scholarships  of  the 
city  of  Paris  must  be  residents  of  Paris.  Five  government  scholarships 
are  put  up  each  year  for  competition,  a  notice  inserted  in  the  official 
journal  indicates  the  date  of  the  written  examination,  and  is  held  at  the 
following  cities:  Paris,  Lyons,  Marseilles,  Toulouse,  Bordeaux,  Rouen, 
L,ille,  Nantes,  Nancy  and  Dijon. 

Vacations. — The  vacation  comprises  about  three  months  each  year, 
from  the  first  day  of  August  to  the  first  day  of  November.  The  prepara- 
tory class  begins  a  month  sooner. 

\Vo?'k  durhio;  \  'acations. — During  vacations  the  pupils  must  prepare, 
according  to  a  plan  issued  by  the  school,  a  paper  which  represents  at  least 
a  month's  work,  amoiuiting  to  eight  hours  a  day.  This  paper  must  be 
prepared  from  a  point  of  view  essentially  commercial  :  technology,  the 
description  of  machines  must  have  only  a  secondary  place.  , 

Those  papers  are  considered  the  best  which  indicate  the  sources  from 
which  the  information  is  drawn  ;  the  geographical  situation  of  the  estab- 
lishments visited  ;  the  names  of  the  persons  familiar  with  the  subjects 
discussed,  and  those  which  give  at  the  same  time  the  figures  relating  to 
production,  consumption,  importation  and  exportation  of  the  raw  materials 
or  the  manufactured  products  studied. 

Organization  of  tJie  School. — The  school  receives  resident  and  day 
pupils  ;  foreigners  are  admitted  on  the  same  conditions  as  natives.  The 
course  is  opened  on  the  first  Monday  in  November  ;  the  length  of  the 
course,  w^hicli,  like  that  of  the  -schools  at  Antwerp,  Havre  and  Bordeaux, 
has  been  two  years  up  to  the  present,  will  shortly  be  extended  to  three 
years.  Beginning  with  the  third  of  November,  1885,  a  preparatory  class 
was  opened  for  those  pupils  who  wished  to  prepare  themselves  to  enter  the 
first  year  of  the  course. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  we  approve  of  this  feature,  which 
we  have  already  praised  in  various  connections  in  discussing  the  .schools 
of  Havre  and  Bordeaux.  So  long  as  commercial  instruction  is  not  sys- 
tematically organized  into  primary,  secondary  and  superior  schools,  the 
higher  schools  wnll  have  an  interest  in  organizing  in  connection  w4th 
themselves  such  preparatory  classes  as  will  ensure  for  them  well  prepared 
pupils.  Such  a  class  has  long  been  a  feature  of  the  Superior  School  of 
Commerce  at  Paris. 

The  co.st  of  board  and  tuition  has  been  fixed  as  follows  :  For  the 
preparatory  year  the  price  for  day  pupils  is  1000  francs,  plus  300  francs 
for  lunch,  which  is  obligatory  ;  the  price  for  resident  pupils  is  2200  francs. 
In  the  regular  course,  both  in  the  first  and  second  year,  the  price  for  day 
pupils  is  the  same  as  in  the  preparatory  class  ;  that  for  resident  pupils  is 
2800  francs.  The  incidental  costs  for  both  classes  of  pupils  amount  to 
about  120  francs  a  year  ;  these  are  necessary  expenditures,  even  for  those 
pupils  holding  scholarships. 


82 
CHAPTER   III. 

INSTRUCTION  ;    DIVISION   OF  THE   CURRICULUM  ;    DISTRIBUTION 
OF   THE    HOURS. 

a.  Instruction. — The  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  desires  that  the 
instruction  at  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies  should  respond  to 
the  needs  of  modern  business,  which  demand  of  the  merchant  a  ver>' 
extensive  preparation  as  well  as  an  education  capable  of  developing  in 
him  a  feeling  of  the  elevated  role  devolving  upon  commerce  in  the  upward 
movement  of  civilization  and  progress.  "  It  has  seemed  to  us,"  said  M. 
Gustave  Ro^-,  at  that  time  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  in  his 
in-augural  address  at  the  opening  of  the  school,  ' '  that  commercial  instruc- 
tion must  be  advanced  in  proportion  as  science  advances. 

' '  That  is  why  we  have  founded  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial 
Studies.  For  too  long  a  time  in  France  commerce  has  been  considered  as 
an  inferior  career  ;  it  is  time  to  protest  against  this  idea,  and  to  show  that 
the  vocations  of  merchants  and  bankers  demand  as  much  intelligence  as 
an)'  other.  It  is  time  for  us  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  our  5-outh 
those  truths  which  the  previous  course  of  their  education  has  concealed 
from  them.  We  have  the  faith  ;  we  shall  have  the  patience.  Just  and 
fruitful  ideas  make  way  slowly  but  surely.  For  our  part,  as  the  advance 
guards  of  the  commerce  of  Paris,  in  which  the  commercial  and  financial 
life  of  France  is  centralized,  let  us  study  its  wants  and  prepare  its  future. 
We  have  learned  in  commerce  as  well  as  in  politics  to  have  no  fear  of 
liberty,  and  it  is  in  these  ideas  that  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  asks  its 
professors  to  train  the  youth." 

It  is  worth  while  quoting  these  words  of  an  experienced  man, 
expressing  his  own  opinion  and  that  of  the  chamber  over  which  he 
presided,  upon  a  creation  which  had  cost  enormous  sacrifices.  In  this 
case  words  did  not  precede  acts  ;  they  followed  them.  The  capital  of 
France,  endowed  with  a  new  and  superior  school,  may  now  say  to  its 
friends  that  "the  economic  education  of  their  children  need  never  again 
be  ignored  in  the  difficult  struggle  which  they  must  sustain.  This  educa- 
tion is  as  essential  to  the  demands  of  modern  commerce  as  militar>' 
education  is  to  that  of  war.  We  have  no  wish  that  you  should  be  any 
longer  deprived  of  this  on  account  of  the  lack  of  schools  and  trained  pro- 
fessors. Our  former  school  is  full ;  here  is  a  still  larger  one.  Fill  it  ! 
Show  us  that  we  have  not  out-run  the  public  demand." 

We  emphasize  the  point  that  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  impressed 
with  the  insufficiency  of  the  services  rendered  to  commerce  by  consuls, 
and  attributing  rightly  this  insufficiency  to  their  lack  of  economic  knowl- 
edge, has  opened  in  the  direction  of  the  consulate  career  a  new  outlet  for 
the  pupils  of  its  schools.  We  find  these  views  squarely  announced  in  the 
re})ort  of  M.  Gustave  Roy  upon  the  program  of  studies  of  the  school. 
"The  chamber,"  he  said,  "wishes  to  fill  a  want  of  the  public  adminis- 
tration in  preparing  young  men  who  shall  be  able  to  represent  France  in 
its  consulates. "  It  is  very  certain  that  with  this  idea  the  instruction  of 
the  new  school  was  reinforced  by  new  courses  in  law  and  legislation. 

b.  Program  of  Studies. — The  program  of  studies,  the  very  title  itself 
given  to  the  .school,  sliows  that  it  was  intended  to  be  as  advanced  as 
possible.  The  report  of  M.  Gustave  Roy  sketches  very  judiciously  its 
great  outlines.     At  every  point  in  the  detailed  examination  of  the  question 


83 

and  constitution  of  the  program  itself,  one  is  forced  to  recognize  that  the 
program  of  studies,  tested  since  1820  in  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce 
and  recently  brought  up  to  the  level  of  modern  knowledge  and  needs  by 
M.  Schwaeble,  aided  by  the  Council  of  Administration  of  the  school, 
furnished  at  almost  every  point  the  desiderata  of  an  advanced  course.  It 
was,  in  consequence,  this  later  curriculum,  slightly  amended  and  strength- 
ened upon  the  side  of  law  and  legislation,  which  was  adopted.  Without 
doubt,  as  M.  Jacques  Siegfried  advised  in  his  "  Memoir,"  it  would  not 
have  been  a  bad  idea  for  the  committee  to  have  studied  in  addition  the 
curricula  of  the  schools  at  Antwerp,  Lyons,  Havre  and  Marseilles,  but  for 
lack  of  time  this  was  not  done. 

The  result  is,  therefore,  that  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial 
Studies  and  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Paris  instruct  in  almost 
exactly  the  same  subjects.  It  is  true  the  organization  of  the  two  estab- 
lishments is  different,  and  each  one  has  its  own  particular  ph3'siognomy 
which  distinguishes  it.  But  that  which  concerns  the  public  chiefly  is 
results.  Emulation  has  resulted  from  the  rivalry,  and  this  will  certainly 
be  a  benefit.  We  wish,  therefore,  that  at  that  time,  when  the  schools  of 
commerce  shall  be  organized  as  parts  of  a  single  plan,  that  there  shall  be 
established  between  the  pupils  of  these  schools  annual  competitions  upon 
the  theory  as  well  as  upon  the  application  of  the  studies  to  the  purposes 
intended — competition  which  would  permit  us  to  judge  of  the  methods 
and  value  of  each  school  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  progress  of  economic 
commercial  instruction.     But  we  shall  touch  upon  this  question  later. 

c.  Preparatory  Schools. — The  method  of  instruction  in  the  School  of 
Higher  Commercial  Studies  is  based  upon  oral  lessons  in  the  classroom, 
and  upon  subsequent  examinations  relating  to  the  subject-matter  of  the 
courses.  The  length  of  the  course,  as  we  have  said,  is  to-day  three  years. 
Of  it,  one  year  is  the  preparatory  class,  and  two  years  are  given  to  the 
normal  or  higher  classes. 

The  program  of  the  subjects  in  the  preparatory  division  is  fixed  by 
that  of  admission  to  the  first  year  of  the  normal  course,  and  embraces 
French,  elements  of  one  foreign  language,  mathematics,  algebra,  geome- 
try, physics,  chemistry,  elementary  natural  historj-,  history  of  France  and 
general  geography.  This  course  is  common  to  the  candidates  for  admission 
into  the  first  year  of  the  normal  course,  and  to  the  candidates  who  desire 
to  compete  for  the  day  scholarships. 

d.  Normal  Course.  First  Year. — The  studies  of  the  first  year 
comprise  accounting,  mathematics,  geography,  the  study  of  merchandise, 
commercial  analyses,  political  economy,  the  various  branches  of  law  in 
their  relation  to  commerce,  penmanship,  and  foreign  languages — one 
southern  and  one  northern  language  at  the  choice  of  the  pupils. 

Second  Year. — Pupils  continue  the  study  of  the  subjects  begun  in  the 
first  year,  and  take  up  in  addition  the  histor}-  of  commerce  ;  budgetarj-, 
tariff  and  fiscal  legislation;  the  study  of  transportation,  the  importance 
of  harbors,  railroads,  water-ways,  canals,  docks,  etc.  Below  is  given  the 
program  of  the  studies  and  the  number  of  hours  given  to  each  branch.-'^ 

This  program  oflfers  in  its  entirety  the  elements  of  an  excellent 
economico-commercial  instruction,  such  as  we  should  like  to  see  in  the 
near  future  in  high  honor  among  us.  For  it  would  quickly  form  a 
nursery  of  young  merchants  able  to  develop  our  domestic  and  foreign 

*  See  page  84. 


84 


commerce,  at  the  same  time  that  it  would  develop  for  the  future  a  solid 
body  of  judges  prepared  for  the  work  of  the  commercial  tribunals  of 
consuls,  possessing  knowledge  of  commercial  affairs  and  able  to  render  us 
great  services  in  foreign  countries  ;  of  properly  trained  teachers  and  of 
experienced  accountants  and  administrators,  of  whom  we  foresee  that 
France  will  have  great  need  whenever  we  shall  determine  to  apply 
resolutely  a  reasonable  system  and  the  principles  of  administrative 
economy  to  the  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  the  nation. 

e.  Distribution  of  the  Hours. — In  the  preparatory  class  the  school  day 
begins  at  quarter-past  eight  o'clock  and  closes  at  half-past  four.  The  day 
pupils  may  remain  at  the  school  until  half-past  six  to  do  their  work,  upon 
paying  a  supplementary  fee  of  fifteen  francs  a  month. 

The  following  table  shows  the  curriculum  as  it  was  in  1886  ;  the 
tables  and  synopsis  on  page  91  and  following  show  the  curriculum  in  1893. 


PREPARATORY  CLASS. 


French  Language  and  Style 

Mathematics  and  Practical  Geometry  .  .  . 
Phj'sics,  Chemistry  and  Natural  History  .  . 
Accounting  and  Elementary  notions  of  Law 

History 

Geography 


English  or  German  Language 

Drawing 

Penmanship 

Examinations 

Instructive   Walks   and  Visits 


Total 


Hours  per  Week. 
4 
5 
3 
3 

iK 
3 
5 
3 
3 
2 

4 
36K 


Regular  Course. 

Accounting 

Mathematics 

Mathematics 

Study  of  Merchandise 
Tests    of  Merchandise 
Tests  of  Merchandise 
History   of    Commerce 
Commercial   Geography 
Civil  Code  and  Civil  Procedure 
Commercial,      Industrial     and 
Maritime  Law 


First  and  second  years 
.    .    8   Hours  per  week  in 
3 

3  •'         "       "  " 

2  "  "  "  " 
I  "  •'  "  " 
i>^ '  " 

3         


each  class  throughout  the  year, 
ist 

2d         "  "  •'       " 

each    "  "  "       " 

1st 
2d 
2d 

each 
1st 


3 


Commercial,      Industrial     and 

Maritime  Law 3 

Budgetary,    Fiscal    and    Tariff 

Legislation 3 

Commercial  Legislation  of 

I'oreign  Countries    ....     i  '2 

Political  I<'conomy i 'i 

Study  of  Transportation    ...     i  '4 
Equipment     and     Commercial 

Material i,'2 

English  and  German  Languages   5 
Spanish  or  Italian  or  I'ortuguese    3 

Penmanship 30 

Penmanship 20 

Commercial  Visits 4 


I.St 

2d 
2(1 
2(1 

1st 

2d 
2d 

each 

I  St 

2d 
each 


(second  semester). 

throughout  the  year. 

"  first  term. 

from  the  end  of  P'eb- 
ruary  to  end  of  June. 

throughout  the  year. 

"  first  term. 

"         third  term. 
"  the  year. 

"         third  term. 

(i  .  t        It 

"  the  vear. 


"  (Distributed  through- 
out   the   year. ) 
"  (Beginning  with 

January. ) 


85 

CHAPTER  IV. 

VARIOUS    EXAMINATIONS. 

a.  Preparatory  Class. — Candidates  who  have  completed  their  fifteenth 
year  are  admitted  into  this  division  without  special  examinations,  and  at 
any  time  during  the  year.  This  class  is  destined  to  train  pupils  for  the 
first  year  of  the  regular  course. 

•  b.  Regular  Course. — First  and  second  year.  Those  young  men  fur- 
nished with  a  diploma  of  Bachelor  of  I^etters  or  Sciences,  also  the  bachelor 
of  special  secondary  instruction  may  enter  directly  and  without  examina- 
tion upon  the  work  of  the  first  year.  No  student  is  admitted  directly  to 
the  second  year's  work.  The  entrance  examinations  to  the  first  year  take 
place  from  the  fifteenth  to  the  thirtieth  of  October  of  each  year  in  the 
buildings  of  the  school.  This  examination  is  divided  into  two  parts, 
written  and  oral. 

The  written  examination  consists  of  the  following  : 

First,  an  essay  (oneand  one-half  hours)  ;  second,  a  mathematical  subject 
^two  hours)  ;  third,  the  translation,  with  the  aid  of  a  dictionary-,  of  a 
French  text  into  English  or  German  at  the  choice  of  the  candidate  (one 
liour.) 

The  oral  examination  comprises  : 

First,  arithmetic,  algebra  and  geometry-  ;  second,  physics,  chemistr>- 
and  natural  history  ;  third,  general  geography  ;  fourth,  the  hi.story  of 
France  ;  fifth,  explanation  of  an  English  or  German  text. 

All  the  subjects  comprised  in  this  program  are  equally  obligatory. 
Candidates  whose  knowledge  upon  any  one  of  the  subjects  is  considered 
insufficient  cannot  be  admitted.  The  topics  for  the  written  composition 
can  be  taken  from  any  subject  in  the  program.  A  correct  style,  a  regular 
and  legible  handwriting  are  essential  conditions. 

Besides  a  certificate  of  vaccination  and  of  certificates  proving  the  age 
(the  completed  sixteenth  year  being  the  lowest  j-ear  accepted)  and  the 
morality  of  the  candidate,  those  persons  who  wish  to  take  part  in  the 
examination  must  send  to  the  director  of  the  school  before  the  fifteenth 
of  October,  a  request  to  that  effect  upon  stamped  paper,  declaring  their 
intentions,  and  also  .stating  whether  or  not  they  desire  a  day  scholarship. 
After  the  close  of  the  examination  the  list  of  pupils  admitted  is  definitely 
fixed  by  the  Council  of  Administration  of  the  school  upon  the  proposi- 
tion of  the  examining  board,  and  published  in  the  official  journal. 

Foreign  pupils  must  furnish  references  to  their  consuls.  They  are 
admitted  to  the  school  in  consequence  of  a  special  examination  intended 
to  determine  whether  they  can  follow  successfully  the  counse  of  study. 

Special  Examinations. — ^The  method  of  instruction  in  the  School  of 
Higher  Commercial  Studies  is  based,  as  we  have  already  said,  upon  oral 
lessons  and  very  frequent  examinations.  A  table  posted  in  the  school 
indicates  to  the  pupils  the  dates  of  these  special  examinations,  which  take 
place  at  least  twice  a  week  ;  one  upon  foreign  languages,  and  one  upon 
other  subjects  of  in.struction  in  the  program. 

The  rules  of  the  school  prescribe  that  no  pupil  may  be  required  to 
pass  more  than,  three  special  examinations  and  more  than  two  general 
examinations  in  the  same  week.  Two  pupils  enter  at  the  same  time  the 
office  of  the  examiner.  The  puy^il  who  has  just  been  examined  goes  out 
and  informs  his  comrade,  who  stands  next  to  him   upon   the  list,  that  his 


86 

turn  has  arrived.  The  examiner  assures  himself  that  the  note-books  of 
the  subject  upon  which  it  is  his  business  to  examine  are  kept  up  to  date, 
that  the  graphical  and  statistical  sketches  are  made  with  care,  and  he  puts 
to  the  pupils  who  come  before  him  such  questions  as  are  intended  to  ascer- 
tain whether  the  lessons  in  the  school-room  have  been  studied  and  under- 
stood.    He  then  gives  a  mark  which  figures  in  the  certificate  of  the  pupil . 

Papers  and  Reports. — Besides  their  examinations  the  pupils  are 
required  to  write  twice  a  month  a  paper  or  report  upon  a  topic  assigned 
by  the  management,  and  relating  to  some  subject  of  instruction  in  the  pro- 
gram. The  subjects  assigned  for  these  papers  are  posted  up  for  eight  days  ; 
they  bear  the  date  of  the  day  when  they  must  be  presented  by  the  student. 

General  Examinations. — The  general  examinations  cover  the  entire 
instruction  in  the  course.  They  take  place  at  the  end  of  each  course. 
The  questions  relating  to  each  subject  are  drawn  by  the  pupil  by  lot. 
The  marks  for  the  general  examinations  in  each  subject  are  counted 
individuall}^  as  well  as  the  average  of  the  special  examinations.  The 
general  average  of  the  student  is  based  upon  the  average  of  the  special 
examinations  and  the  marks  of  the  general  examinations. 

Marks. — The  value  of  the  marks  is  fixed  according  to  the  table 
below : 

Zero  (°) failure.       I  9,  lo,  ii passable. 

I,  2,  3 very  bad.  |  12,  13 fair. 

4,  5,  6 bad'.  I  14,  15,  16 good. 

7,  8 feeble.         |  17,  18,  19 very  good. 

io perfect. 

Classification  of  Pupils. — The  marks  obtained  in  the  general  and 
special  examinations  serv^e  for  the  classification  of  pupils  at  Easter,  and 
at  the  close  of  the  5'ear,  periods  at  which  reports  are  sent  to  the  parents. 
The  classification  at  Easter  is  provisional ;  the  classification  of  July  ser\-^ 
to  establish  the  passing  rank  from  the  first  to  the  second  j-ear.  No  pupil 
can  pass  from  the  first  to  the  second  3'ear  unless  he  has  obtained  a  general 
average  of  at  least  nine  (9) . 

The  final  classification  is  based  upon  the  combined  general  average 
of  the  examinations  of  the  first  year  wdiich  count  for  one- fourth,  and 
upon  that  of  the  examinations  of  the  second  year  which  counts  for  three- 
fourths.  To  obtain  a  certificate  one  must  have  reached  a  general  mini- 
mum average  of  ten  (10).  To  obtain  a  diploma  one  must  have  reached 
at  the  end  of  the  second  3'ear  a  general  minimum  average  of  thirteen  (13). 
The  report  of  classification  given  to  each  pupil  contains  in  connection 
with  the  .subjects  of  instruction,  two  columns  of  marks  ;  the  one  receiv- 
ing the  general  average  of  the  special  examinations  ;  the  other  the  marks 
of  the  general  examinations.  The  marks  appearing  in  these  two  columns 
are  added  together  respectiveh\  and  each  of  the  sums  thus  obtained  is 
divided  by  the  number  of  subjects.  The  quotient  gives  the  average  of 
the  total  marks  of  the  .special  and  general  examinations.     For  example  : 

The  quotient  of  all  the  special  examinations  of  a  pupil  is  107  for 
eleven  subjects  ;  that  of  all  the  marks  of  his  general  examinations  is  106 
for  eight  subjects,  thus,  'iV=9.72  ;  '8*'=i3.25.  The  general  average 
obtained  is  the  sum  of  9.72  and  13.25  divided  by  2,  thdt  is  11. 48.  The 
average  at  the  close  of  the  second  year  is  diminished  or  increased  bj'  the 
average  of  the  report  of  the  first  year.  I{xam]ik' :.  (^ Giving  the  average 
of  the  first  year  as  ten)- [lo-f- r^X    1 1.48)] -7-4=1 1. 1 1— the  final  mark. 


87 
CHAPTER  V. 

VARIOUS  REWARDS,  DISCIPLINE,  DIPLOMAS,  CERTIFICATES  AND  PENALTIES 

The  diplomas,  signed  by  the  Minister  of  Commerce,  are  granted 
those  pupils,  foreign  or  native,  who  have  satisfied  in  an  able  manner  all 
the  tests  of  the  final  examinations  at  the  end  of  the  second  year.  In 
August,  1883,  forty  diplomas  were  conferred  upon  a  class  of  fortj'-six 
pupils  ;  in  August,  18S4,  thirty-nine  diplomas  were  conferred  upon  a  class 
of  fifty-one  pupils  ;  in  August,  1885,  twenty-nine  diplomas  were  conferred 
upon  a  class  of  forty-nine  pupils.  It  is  evident  that  the  severity  of  the  exam- 
inations for  these  diplomas  is  steadil}'  increasing  from  year  to  j-ear.  There 
is  also  for  foreign  pupils  a  special  diploma  intended  to  testify  that  they 
have  followed  the  courses  of  the  school  with  success. 

Certificates  of  capacity  are  given  to  pupils  of  the  second  year  who, 
although  not  able  to  obtain  a  diploma,  have,  nevertheless,  given  proof  of 
sufficient  knowledge  of  the  most  essential  subjects  of  instruction. 

The  list  of  pupils  graduated  is  published  in  the  official  journal. 
There  is  no  formal  distribution  of  these  diplomas,  but  a  simple  handing 
over  of  the  diplomas  and  certificates  on  the  part  of  the  director.  This 
lack  of  ceremony  is  not  justified,  in  our  opinion,  by  good  reasons.  Ever}'- 
thing  which  can  contribute  to  dignify  the  instruction,  to  throw  into  relief 
the  result  of  the  combined  efforts  of  instructors  and  pupils  ought  to  be  util- 
ized for  the  profit  of  this  instruction,  and  to  increase  the  faith  in  it  on  the 
part  of  the  public.  One  should  have  faith  in  superior  commercial 
instruction,  and  should  show  that  one  has  faith.  This  instruction  is 
destined  to  take  an  official  place  above  secondary  general  instruction,  of 
which  it  will  be  a  development.  For  the  present  let  us  mark  for  it  that 
place  which  it  has  been  able  to  secure. 

General  Discipline. — The  inspector  of  studies  who  is  present  at  the 
various  courses  and  at  the  examinations,  devotes  himself  to  all  the  details 
of  the  work  of  the  pupils.  He  is  charged,  under  the  authority  of  the 
director  of  the  school,  with  maintaining  a  careful  Dbser\"ation  of  the  pro- 
gram of  instruction,  and  of  insuring  the  maintenance  of  discipline  among 
the  pupils.  He  is  aided  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  mission  by  the  under- 
instructors  to  the  number  of  four. 

As  a  relaxation  from  mental  fatigue  the  council  of  the  school  has 
decided  that  the  pupils  should  have  at  their  disposal  a  hall  of  sports  ;  a 
billiard  hall  ;  a  checkers  and  chess  room,  as  well  as  interesting  reading. 
Up  to  the  present  no  restrictions  have  been  placed  on  the  various  methods 
of  relaxation.  Besides  this,  boxing,  fencing  and  dancing  halls  ena])le 
the  pupils  to  amuse  themselves  according  to  their  tastes.  Finally,  during 
the  recreation  hours  the  pupils  are  authorized  to  smoke  in  the  hall  of 
sports  and  in  the  court  ^-ards. 

Piuiishvient. — The  following  punishments  may  be  inflicted  upon  the 
pupils  :  half  demerit,  entire  demerit,  temporary  expulsion,  reprimand 
pronounced  by  the  director,  not  in  the  presence  of  the  council  of  the 
school  ;  reprimand  in  the  presence  of  the  council,  and  expulsion 
pronounced  by  the  council  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  director. 

The  inspector  of  studies  notes  all  infractions  of  the  rules  by  the  pupils, 
and  the  reprimands  which  they  have  incurred  in  consequence  of  negligence 
or  irregularity  in  their  work.  The  council  of  the  school  takes  into  consid- 
eration the  disciplinary  marks  of  each  pupil  when  it  makes  changes  in  the 
divisions,  or  when  considering  applications  for  certificates  and  diplomas. 


88 
CHAPTER  VI. 

ADMINISTRATION  ;    RECEIPTS  ;    EXPENSES. 

The  school  is  administered  by  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  which 
founded  it.     It  receives  no  subsidy  from  the  State. 

The  most  serious  eflforts  and  earnest  solicitude  are  employed  by  the 
president,  M.  L,.  Hielard  ;  by  the  administrators,  who  aid  him  with  their 
experience  ;  by  the  director,  M.  Jourdan  ;  by  the  president  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  M.  Dietz-Monnin,  who  sits  in  the  council  by  right  of 
his  office,  and  who  rarely  fails  to  be  present  at  its  sessions  ;  and,  finally, 
by  M.  Gustave  Roy,  in  order  to  ensure  the  development  and  the  success 
of  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies.  The  careful  study  which 
we  have  made  of  the  progress  of  this  school  shows  that  it  has  passed 
beyond  the  difficulties  of  its  early  years,  and  is  advancing  each  year. 

Budget. — The  budget  of  the  school  is  very  large,  as  the  Paris  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  wished  to  do  a  handsome  thing,  and  desired  that  no 
expense  should  be  spared  to  call  attention  to  its  beautiful  creation.  Of 
course,  experience  cannot  fail  to  show  reforms  which  it  will  be  necessary 
to  carrv^  out  in  the  modus  vivendi  of  the  various  departments,  as  well  as 
in  the  construction  of  the  curriculum  and  its  application.  Thanks  to 
certain  economies  which  were  necessary'  and  which  could  be  carried 
through  without  inconvenience  ;  thanks  also  to  the  steady  growth  of  the 
number  of  pupils,  which  must  be  still  more  marked  in  consequence  of  the 
formation  of  the  preparatory'  class,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  financial 
condition  of  the  vSchool  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies  will  be  sensibly 
improved  from  this  time  on.  This,  at  least,  is  the  view  which  we  share, 
being  persuaded  that  there  is  room  in  Paris  for  two  great  schools  of  com- 
merce as  flourishing  as  the  rue  Amelot. 

The  following  table  shows  the  receipts  and  expenses  for  the  school 
year  1884-85  : 

RECEIPTS. 

Term  Fees  of  the  Pupils 176,530.00  francs. 

Profits  in  the  Students'  Supplies 3,696.00       " 

Total 180,226.00  francs. 

EXPENSES. 

Of  the  Personnel  and  Administration 44,840.00  francs. 

Remuneration  of  Professors  and  Examiners 90,180.00  " 

Expenses  of  P'ood 58,000.00  " 

"               Heating 7,231.00  " 

"               Lighting ' 6,500.00  " 

"               Laundry 4,500.00  " 

"              Advertising 3,000.00  " 

"               Library 1,200.00  " 

"               Laboratory      600.00  " 

"               Maintenance  and  Repairs 4,500.00  " 

General  Costs 4,500.00  " 

City  Water      1,500.00  " 

"               Taxes  and  Insurance 8,453.00  " 

Annuity  to  the  Credit  Foncier 100,904.25  " 

Total 337.90^-25  francs. 

This  shows  a  deficit  of  157,682  francs,  comprising,  it  is  true,  the  rent 
of  the  school  buildings,  represented  by  the  annuity  payable  to  the  Credit 
Foncier  for  interest  and  repayment  of  the  loan  by  this  useful  establishment 
to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 


89 
The  following  was  the  budget  for  the  school  year  18S5-86  : 

RECEIPTS. 

Tenn  Fees  of  Pupils 217,550.00  francs. 

Profits  on  Students'  Supplies 4,067  00       " 

Sales  of  Material 2,400.00       " 

Balance 4,76345       " 

Total 228,780.45  francs. 

EXPENSES. 

Payment  to  Personnel  and  Administration 44,840.00  francs. 

Professors 58,550.00  " 

lixaniiners 11,720.00  " 

Donations 2,000.00  " 

Food 63,593.00 

Heating 7,200.00  " 

Lighting      6,960.00  " 

Laundry 5.079-45  " 

Advertising 5,000.00  " 

Library ' 1,200.00  " 

Laboratory      1,600.00  " 

Maintenance  and  Repairs      5,900.00  " 

General  Costs 4,700.00  " 

City  Water 1,895.00  " 

Taxe?  and  Insurance 8.453.00  " 

Total 228,780.45  francs. 

This  report  differs  essential!)'  from  the  preceding  one,  as  it  shows 
that  the  school  is  making  expenses  and  receipts  meet,  without  counting, 
it  is  remembered,  the  annuity  to  the  Credit  Foncier,  which  has  been 
asstimed  by  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  consequence  of  an  agree- 
ment entered  into  between  the  chamber,  the  cit}'  and  the  State,  and  a  law 
relating  to  the  construction  of  a  bourse.  By  this  combination  the  chamber, 
by  means  of  additional  hundredths  levied  upon  Parisian  commerce,  finds 
tlie  necessar>'  means  to  cover  the  annuity  due  to  the  Credit  Foncier. 

By  alienating  the  most  certain  of  its  revenues  and  by  mortgaging  the 
fu  ttirefoiL-  fi  ftx^^ars ,  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  consuTEuig  only 
the  "cITctates  of  a 'wise  patriotism,  has  not  hesitated  to  extend  superior 
commercial  instruction,  and  to  attract  to  it  the  .sons  of  our  merchants. 
The  fortunate  arrangement,  of  which  we  have  just  spoken,  will  not 
impoverish  any  one  ;  and  Paris  pos.sesses,  as  a  result,  a  magnificent  estab- 
lishment of  commercial  in.struction,  the  most  beautiful,  without  doubt,  in 
the  world.     We  may  surely  say  here,  if  ever.  "  All's  well  that  ends  well." 

The  director,  M.  Jourdan,  an  engineer  of  arts  and  manufactures,  has 
been  at  the  head  of  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies  since  its 
foundation.  He  had  formerly  been  the  director  of  the  Commercial  School 
in  avenue  Trudaine,  and  had  there  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce.  M.  Huret,  inspector  of  studies,  was  also  a  member  of  the 
in.structing  body  of  the  Commercial  School,  where  he  had  been  a  professor 
for  five  years. 

Tlie  large  scheme  adopted  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  for  its  School 
of  Higher  Commercial  Studies  explains  the  large  number  of  professors. 
The  faculty  numbers  forty-four  including  seven  e-xaminers.  The  cham- 
ber intended  that  the  equipment  of  the  new  school  should  fully  correspond 
to  its  really  grandiose  plan.  It  has  succeeded  at  the  cost  of  large  sacri- 
fices, which  will  be  appreciated  and  which  will  produce,  in  oxir  opinion, 
the  results  which  the  chamber  expects  of  them. 


90 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Conclusion. — A^ohlcssc  Oblige. — But  certain  titles  are  heavy  to  carry, 
and  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  furnished  us  a  new  proof  of 
this.  A  part  of  that  which  has  come  to  pass  had  already-  been  foreseen  in 
the  interesting  report  of  M.  Jacques  Siegfried,  where  he  says  :  "If  the 
Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  should  count  upon  a  considerable  number 
of  pupils  at  the  beginning  it  would  run  the  risk  of  being  deceived. 
Experience  shows  that  if  the  utility'  of  superior  commercial  instruction 
gradually  makes  itself  felt  more  and  more,  it  must,  on  the  other  hand, 
count  upon  meeting  those  prejudgments  and  settled  habits  of  thought  over 
which  we  cannot  triumph  without  much  patience." 

With  its  attention  occupied  in  raising  the  level  of  commercial  instruc- 
tion, and  consequently  the  prestige  of  the  commercial  career,  the  chamber 
cherished  more  illusions  than  M.  Siegfried.  In  fact,  M.  Gustave  Roy, 
its  president,  said  in  the  inaugural  address,  from  which  we  have  already 
quoted  some  passages  :  ' '  We  have  confidence  in  our  work  ;  it  is  proposed 
to  draw  into  this  school  young  men  who  have  already-  completed  their 
classical  studies,  not  those  who  have  not  succeeded  in  the  colleges,  but 
those  who  have  distinguished  themselves  there." 

The  immediate  future,  however,  did  not  justify  the  views  of  y[. 
Gustave  Roy  for  the  reason  that  classical  instruction  never  turns  the 
aspiration  of  its  pupils  toward  the  commercial  career,  and  the  college 
graduates,  notably  those  who  have  distinguished  themselves,  despise 
commerce  and  think  that  the}'  are  destined  exclusively  for  liberal  or 
administrative  careers. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  necessities  of  existence  turned  the  school  away 
from  the  strict  observation  of  a  rule  wdiich  would  have  brought  it  to  an 
early  death  of  inanition,  and  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies, 
which  was  intended  to  give  only  superior  instruction,  has  been  compelled 
in  order  to  replenish  its  classes  to  devote  itself  to  secondan,-  instruction . 
It  is  this  same  reason  which  compelled  it  to  create  classes  preparatory-  to 
this  latter  instruction.  That  is  to  say,  to  introduce  a  primary  element  in 
the  ver>'  institution  where  the  secondary-  element  was  to  have  been 
excluded  on  principle. 

We  have  advised  this  last  measure  in  the  interest  of  the  school,  and 
we  hope  for  its  success.  In  order  to  ensure  homogeneity  in  the  classes, 
and  with  a  view  of  raising  the  character  of  the  instruction,  it  wall  probably 
be  necessary  to  double  the  preparatory  year  for  certain  pupils,  or  to  cut 
this  division  into  two  sections.  Perhaps  it  will  even  be  advisable  to  adopt 
the  same  measure  for  the  first  year  of  the  regular  course,  so  that  the 
second  year  may  really  become  an  advanced  course. 

As  to  the  rest,  however,  we  are  of  the  conviction  that  this  measure 
will  be  only  transitory.  The  future  of  commercial  instruction  is  assured 
because  necessity  compels  it.  Under  the  pressure  of  economic  event.s 
who.se  action  on  ideas  and  manners  is  powerful,  as  well  as  under  that  of 
better  logic,  we  shall  .soon  see  a  rapid  transformation  in  our  way  of  viewing 
the  whole  subject  of  education.  A  logical  reorganization  of  general 
secondary  instruction  will  prepare  the  youth  for  the  professional  instruc- 
tion which  they  may  have  chosen,  and  the  .schools  of  commerce,  con.sidered 
on  a  par  with  other  special  .schools,  will  not  then  be  less  advanced. 


jfc.. 


91 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ASSOCIATION  OF  THE    FORMER   GRADUATES   OF   THE   SCHOOL  OF    HIGHER 
COMMERCIAL,    INSTRUCTION. 

This  a.ssociation  was  founded  on  the  twelfth  of  July,  1883.  Its  place 
of  meeting  is  at  the  school,  108  Boulevard  Male.sherbes.  This  association 
is  primarily  a  social  benefit  .society.  It  has  for  its  purpose  :  Fir.st,  to 
maintain  and  create  amicable  relations  among  the  alumni  of  the  School  of 
Higher  Commercial  Studies  ;  second,  to  come  to  the  aid  of  former  asso- 
ciates who  may  need  a.ssistance  ;  third,  to  furnish  to  the  various  interests 
of  the  association  information  of  every  kind.  In  order  to  accomplish  these 
various  purposes  :  First,  a  place  of  meeting  has  been  fixed,  these  meetings 
are  held  every  week  ;  second,  monthly  economic  conferences  and  discus- 
sions are  held  by  the  members  of  the  association  ;  third,  a  quarterly 
bulletin  has  just  been  established,  consisting  of  four  parts  :  (a)  reports  of 
the  sessions  of  the  general  committee  ;  {b)  various  studies  by  former 
pupils  of  the  school;  (r)  notices  of  wants  ;  (d)  advertisements  for  the 
benefit  of  the  members  of  the  association  ;  fourth,  the  president  can,  in 
case  of  urgency,  give  immediate  pecuniary  assistance  ;  fifth,  a  committee 
of  employment  is  established,  charged  with  aiding  their  former  comrades 
in  the  choice  and  obtaining  of  positions  ;  sixth,  as  a  large  number  of  the 
alumni  have  studied  law  and  been  enrolled  as  advocates  before  the  Coiirt 
of  Appeals,  a  judicial  council  has  been  established.  It  gives  advice  upon 
all  legal  questions  of  interest  to  the  members  of  the  association.  The  idea 
seems  to  us  excellent.  We  need  lawj'ers  who  know  how  to  analyze  a 
balance,  a  liquidation,  etc.  I^awyers  who  have  taken  a  course  in  the 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  can  hardly  fail  to  be  successful.  The  asso- 
ciation is  administered  by  a  committee  composed  of  eleven  members. 


The  Official  Program  of  the  Courses  of  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial 
Studies  and  the  Preparatory  School  connected  with  the  same. 


{Ministerial  Orders  of  zjth  of  Jtily,  1891,  and  2  jt  It  of  July,  iS<)2.) 


PROGRAM  OF  THE  COURSE  OF  THE  PREPARATORY 

SCHOOL. 


DESCRIPTION    OF   COURSES. 
SUBJECTS  OK  INSTRUCTION.  Hours  per  Week^ 

French 5 

Arithmetic  (^ 

Algebra         1 ^ 

Geometry i 

Accounting 3 

Rlements  of  ordinary  legislation i 

Physios     ....        • 1  ^ 

Chemistry 3 

History i  '^ 

General  Geography 3 

Drawing       2 

Penniansliip i 

Living  languages 4 

Total 31 


92 
PREPARATORY  SCHOOL 


FRENCH. 
Exercises  in  Orthography ^  Composition  and  Correspondence . 


ARITHMETIC. 


Preliminary  Definitions. — Magnitude,  numbers,  measure  of  magni- 
tude, unit3^  whole  numbers,  fractions,  fractional  numbers. 

Oral  Numeratio7i. — Definitions,  decimal  numeration. 

Written  Numeration. — Definitions,  absolute  and  relative  value  of  a 
number. 

Operations  in  JVho/e  jVinnders. — Addition  and  subtraction.  Defini- 
tions, rules,  proofs  ;  exercises  in  rapid  calculation  both  mental  and  writ- 
ten in  addition  and  subtraction.  Multiplication.  Definitions.  Table  of 
multiplication  of  the  first  fifteen  numbers.  Different  cases  of  multiplica- 
tion ;  theory,  and  practical  rules.  Theorems  relative  to  multiplication. 
Exercises  in  rapid  multiplication  b)- 4,  5,  9,  11,  15,  19,  21,  25,  29,  30,  31, 
39,  41,  125,  their  multiples  and  sub-multiples.  Division,  definitions, 
rules,  exercises,  short  division,  theorems  relative  to  division.  Division 
by  25,  75,  125,  their  multiples  and  .sub-multiples. 

Properties  of  Whole  N^iimbers. — Divisibility.  Preliminary  theorems. 
Remainder  in  the  division  of  the  number  by  2,  3,  5,  9,  11,  4  and  25. 
Proofs  by  9  and  11  of  the  multiplication  and  division.     Exercises. 

Greatest  Co?nmo7i  Divisor. — Definition.  Finding  the  greatest  common 
divisor  of  two  numbers.  Fundamental  theorems.  Rule.  Simplification. 
Exercises.  Properties  of  the  greatest  common  divisor.  Greatest 
common  divisor  of  several  numbers. 

Prime  Numbers. — Definitions  of  prime  numbers  and  of  numbers 
prime  to  one  another.  Theorems.  Formation  of  a  table  of  prime  num- 
bers. Separation  of  a  number  into  its  prime  factors.  Rule.  Exercises. 
Divisors  of  a  number.  Methods  of  finding  them.  Greatest  common 
tlivisor.     Lea.st  common  multiple. 

Fractions — Definition.  Reducing  fractions  to  their  most  simple  form. 
Reducing  to  the  same  denominator.  Operations  in  fractions.  Exerci.ses. 
Decimal  fractions.  Definitions.  Numeration  of  decimal  numbers. 
Operations  in  decimal  numbers.  Estimation  of  the  quotient  by  means  of 
a  given  decimal  unit.  Conversion  of  common  fractions  into  decimal 
fractions,  and  vice  ver.sa.  Irreducible  common  fraction  giving  rise  to  a 
circulating  fraction.  Circulating  fractions.  Definitions.  Finding  the 
generator  of  .such  fractions. 

Po7vers  and  Pools. — Definitions  and  theorems.  Extraction  of  the 
square  root  of  a  whole  number.  li.xtraction  of  the  square  root  of  a  whole 
number  or  fractional  number  with  a  certain  approximation.  Square  roots 
of  decimal  numbers.  Squares  and  square  roots  of  fractions.  P^xerci.ses 
in  rapid  methods  of  extracting  the  .square  roots.  Cubes  and  cube  roots. 
Definitions.  Extraction  of  the  cube  root  of  a  whole  number.  Extraction 
of  the  cube  root  of  a  whole  number  or  fractional  number  to  a  given 
approximation.  Cube  roots  of  fractions  and  of  decimal  numbers,  the  cube 
of  a  fraction.  Positive,  negative,  entire  and  fractional  exponents.  Zero 
exponents. 


93 

Measures. — Ancient  French  measures  and  present  lawful  measures. 
Comparison.  Conversion  of  ancient  into  present,  and  vice  versa.  Exer- 
cises in  rapid  conversion.  Measures  of  length,  of  surface,  of  volume,  of 
capacity,  of  weight.  Monetary  measures.  Foreign  moneys.  Application 
of  rapid  methods  in  the  conversion  of  FVench  money  into  foreign  mone>-, 
and  vice  versa. 

Complex  Numbers. — Definitions.      Operations  in   complex   numbers. 

Ratios. — Definitions.  Proportions.  Proportional  magnitudes. 
Theorems.  Applications.  Rule  of  3  (direct,  inverse,  simple  and  com- 
pound proportion.s) .  Method  of  reducing  to  unit}'.  Easy  questions  in 
proportional  parts,  alligations,  partnerships.  Rule  of  simple  interest. 
General  formula.  Methods  of  rapid  calculation  of  the  ordinary  rates  of 
interest.  Definitions  of  compound  interest.  Discounts  (foreign  and 
domestic).  Rules  of  partnership.  Definitions  of  progressions  (arithmeti- 
cal, geometrical,  increasing  and  decreasing). 

ALGEBRA. 

Algebraic  Calculations. — Employment  of  letters  and  signs  as  a  means 
of  abbreviation  and  generalization.  Similar  terms.  Addition  and  sub- 
traction. Multiplication.  Rules  for  the  signs.  Division  of  monomials. 
Division  of  polynomials.  Introduction  and  calculation  of  negative  num- 
bers.    Negative  exponents. 

Equations  of  the  First  Degree  ContaiJiing  One  l/nknoccn  Quantity. — 
Solution  :  First,  of  the  system  of  two  equations  of  the  first  degree  contain- 
ing two  unknown  quantities  ;  of  the  system  of  three  equations  of  the  first 
degree  containing  three  unknown  quantities.  Brief  explanation  of  the 
method  of  solution  by  the  employment  of  indeterminate  factors,  of  any 
number  of  equations  of  the  first  degree  containing  a  corresponding  number 
of  unknown  quantities. 

Problems  in  Equations  0/  the  First  /degree. — Interpretati(jn  of  negati\-e 
results. 

Equations  of  the  Second  Degree  Containing  One  Unknown  Quantity . 
— Solution  of  the  equation  ax'-f-bx-f-c=o.  Di.scu.s.sion.  Imaginary 
roots.  Decomposition  of  the  trinomial  ax'-j-bx-f-c  into  its  factors  of  the 
first  degree. 

Arithmetical  and  Geometrical  Progression. — Theory  of  logarithms 
deduced  from  progression.  Logarithms  of  which  the  base  is  ten.  Tables. 
The  characteristic.  Introduction  of  negative  characteristics,  for  the 
expansion  of  numbers  smaller  than  unity,  of  the  logarithmic  calculations. 
The  use  of  tables. 

Com,pou7id  Interest  and  Annuities. — Application  of  logarithms  to  these 
qiiestions. 

GEOMETRY. 

Of  the  Straight  Litie. — Perpendicular  lines.  Oblique  lines.  Parallel 
lines. 

Of  Angles. — Triangles.     Polygons. 

Of  the  Circumferetice. — The  circle.  Measure  of  angles.  Arcs  and 
cords.  Tangents  and  secants  of  a  circle.  Measure  of  the  circumference 
of  a  circle. 

Proportional  Lines. — Similitudes. 

Measure  of  Plane  Surfaces. — Triangles.  Quadrilaterals.  Polygons. 
Circles. 


94 

Measure  of  the  Surface  and  of  the  Volume  of  the  Pri7icipal  Solids. — 
Prism.  Parallelopiped.  Pyramid.  Frustrum  of  the  pyramid.  Cylinder, 
Cone.     Frustrum  of  the  cone.     Sphere. 

Practical  Applications. — Capacity  of  casks.  Volume  of  a  bag  of 
sand,  etc. 

BOOKKEEPING. — I.    IDEAS    OF    COMMERCE    AND   THE   STUDY   OF 
COMMERCIAL    DOCUMENTS. 

Commerce. — Commerce  in  general.  Wholesale  commerce  and  semi- 
wholesale.  Retail  commerce.  Domestic  commerce.  Foreign  commerce. 
Importation.     Exportation. 

Persons  Engaged  in  Commerce.  —  Manufacturers.  Merchants. 
Bankers.  Brokers.  Remitters.  Bucket-shop  brokers.  Produce  brokers. 
Naval  brokers.  Commissioners.  The  bonder  of  goods.  Commercial 
transportation.     Agents. 

Exchanges. — Nature  of  exchanges.  Commercial  exchanges  :  buying 
and  selling  for  cash,  with  or  without  discount.  Buying  and  selling  on 
time  or  on  account,  with  or  without  interest.  The  art  of  buying  and 
selling  :  general  principles.  A  knowledge  of  products.  A  knowledge  of 
affairs,  A  knowledge  of  markets  and  seaport  markets.  Estimation 
of  expected  gain. 

Documents  Relating  to  Exchanges. — Orders  of  sale.  Orders  of 
purchase.  Invoice.  Bills.  Quittance,  Memorandum.  Goods  on 
commission.  Delivery-  of  goods.  Receipt  of  goods.  Card  of  samples, 
etc. 

Regulations  of  Exchanges. — Money.  Bank  bills.  Paper  money. 
Checks.  Checks  made  to  order.  Bills  of  exchange.  Mandate.  Assign- 
ment.    Eetters  of  credit.     Clearing-house  transactions. 

Rules  of  payment :  In  specie,  in  bank  bills,  in  paper  money,  by 
check,  by  means  of  offsets. 

Tra7isportation. — By  wagon.  By  railroad  :  application  of  the  dif- 
ferent French  and  international  tariffs.  Transportation  by  canals  and 
rivers.  Transportation  by  sea.  Packing  of  merchandise  shipped. 
Formalities  of  shipping.  Insurance.  Tags.  A  detailed  memorandum 
of  goods  shipped.  Bill  of  lading.  The  different  tariffs  of  transportation. 
In.surance  premium. 

II.     ELEMENTS    AND    GENERAL   THEORY   OF    ACCOUNTING. 

Principal  Terms  Used  in  Accounting. — Debtor.  Creditor.  Debit. 
Credit.  Receipts.  Expenditure.  Accounts.  Keeping  the  books. 
Definitions.     Different  sorts  of  agents. 

Accounts. — Definition  of  an  account.  Manner  of  di.sposing  of  an 
account.  Account  of  receipts  and  account  of  payments.  Cash  book 
taken  as  an  example.  Practical  exerci.ses.  Illustrations.  Fluctuations 
of  receipts  and  expenses.  Clo.sing  and  reopening  a  cash  account.  Agree- 
ment of  the  receipts  and  expenditures. 

Impersonal  accounts,  representing  the  inventoried  wealth  of  the 
enterprise.  Personal  accounts,  representing  the  third  ])arty,  debtors  or 
creditors  of  the  enterpri.se. 

The  fournal. — Definition.  The  use  of  the  journal.  Formula  for 
entries  in  the  journal.  vSingle  journal,  divided  journal.  Different  modes 
of  dividing  the  journal.  Auxiliary  or  analytical  journal  of  receipts  or 
cash   expen.ses,  bills,  .store,   factory,  etc..   and   transactions  carried  on  by 


95 

correspondence.  General  or  synthetical  journal.  Models.  Formula?  for 
the  articles  recapitulating  the  relation  of  the  auxiliary  journal  to  the 
general  journal.  Practical  exercises  with  actual  accounts.  Additional 
advantage  of  the  auxiliary  journal  and  the  general  journal. 

The  Ledger. — Definition.  U.se  of  the  ledger.  Single  ledger.  Divided 
ledger.  General  or  synthetical  ledger,  auxiliary  or  analytical  ledger. 
Models. 

Relation  of  the  journal  to  the  ledger.  Practical  exercises  in  opening 
an  account,  and  the  relation  of  entries  in  the  journal  to  those  in  the 
ledger.  Precautions  to  be  taken  in  order  to  avoid  errors.  Agreement  of 
the  general  journal  and  the  general  ledger.  Agreement  of  the  general 
ledger  and  the  auxiliary  ledger. 

Colleetive  Accounts. — Definition.  Advantage  of  collective  accounts 
foj;  controlling  the  collections  of  accounts  opened  in  the  auxiliary  ledger, 
and  for  simplifying  the  balancing  of  accounts. 

Balancing  Accounts. — Definition.  Agreement  of  entries  in  the 
journal  and  the  accounts  in  the  ledger,  obtained  by  balancing  the 
accounts.  Periodical  balances.  Daily  balances.  Advantage  of  frequent 
balances.  Model  of  a  general  ledger  balance  with  and  without  collective 
accounts.  Models  of  balancing  the  auxiliary  ledger.  Model  of  balanc- 
ing the  general  ledger,  with  the  methodical  classification  of  accounts. 

"  Chijfricr-bala7ice.'" — Definition.  Its  function  ;  its  utility  for  obtain- 
ing the  balances  in  enterprises  having  a  large  number  of  accounts.  Daily 
balances  obtained  by  means  of  the  chiflfrier-balance  corresponding  to  the 
number  of  accounts. 

Division  and  Classification  of  Accounts. — Different  species  of  accounts. 
Necessity  for  a  classification.  Mathematical  expressions  and  commercial 
operations.  Rational  classification,  which  results  in  accounts  of  the 
nominal  capital.  Accounts  of  the  wealth  or  means  of  carrying  on  an 
enterprise.  Accounts  of  persons,  debited  or  credited.  Rate  of  profits. 
Permanence  of  the  inventor^'. 

Analysis  of  the  Different  Series  of  Accounts. — Accounts  of  the  nominal 
capital  of  an  enterprise.  Capital  stock.  Bonds.  Reserves.  Different 
amortizations. 

Accounts  of  the  wealth  composing  the  inventory  of  the  means  of 
carrying  on  an  enterprise  (at  the  price  of  the  net  cost  of  the  properties)  : 

a.  Real  Estate. — Commercial  funds.  Shares.  Expenses  of  estab- 
li.shing  the  business.  Licenses.  Realties.  Personal  property.  Mate- 
rials. 

b.  Disposable  Property. — Money.  Bills  receivable.  Documents. 
Raw  materials.     Warehouses  of  sale. 

c.  Fixed  Property. — Manufactory.  Buildings.  Investments.  Joint 
accounts.     Agencies.     Lands,  etc. 

Accounts  of  persons  debited  or  credited  (at  the  price  of  purchase  or 
sale) . 

Accounts  of  profits  (debit  or  credit  of  the  dijBferences  between  the  net 
price  and  the  price  of  sale)'.  Account  of  sales.  Accidental  profits  and 
losses.  Results  of  the  different  operations.  General  expenses.  Accounts 
of  receipts  and  expenditures. 

Inventory.  Balance  Sheet. — The  inventor>'  of  balances  of  the 
classified  accounts.  Balance  sheet.  Book  of  balances.  Book  of  inven- 
tories. 


96 

The  Elements  of  Ordinary  Legislation. 

Brief  notions  relating  to  matters  of  public  and  civil  law,  commercial 
law,  industrial  law,  as  prescribed  in  the  program  of  tlie  normal  courses. 

PHYSICS. — GENERAL    NOTIONS. 

Prelinmiaries. — A  few  notions  of  mechanics,  work,  living  force. 

Force  of  Gravity. — Direction  of  the  force  of  gravity.  Centre  of 
gravity.  Weights.  Balances.  Precision.  Sensibility.  Weights  of 
bodies.  Law  of  the  fall  of  bodies.  Atwood's  machine.  The  pendulum  : 
its  applications.     Notions  regarding  the  different  conditions  of  bodies. 

Hydrostatics. — Principle  of  the  equality  of  pressure  in  fluids.  Free 
surface  of  liquids  in  equilibrium.  Pressure  at  the  bottom  of  vessels. 
Hydraulic  pressure.  The  principle  of  vessels  in  communication.  Appli- 
cations. Principle  of  Archimedes.  Specific  weights.  Relation  of  the 
areometers  to  constant  weight.  Weight  of  the  air.  The  barometer. 
Law  of  Mariotte.  The  manometer  of  free  air  and  compressed  air.  Pneu- 
matic machine.     Pumps,  syphons  and  areostatics. 

Heat. — Expansion  of  bodies  by  heat.  The  thermometer.  Co-efficients 
of  expansion.  Their  determination.  Their  use.  Conductibility  of 
bodies.  Specific  heat.  Methods  of  mixture.  Fusion,  solidification. 
Latent  heat.  Freezing  mixtures.  The  formation  of  vapors  in  a  vacuum. 
Saturated  and  non-saturated  vapor.  Maximum  of  tension.  Tables. 
Mixture  of  gas  and  vapors.  Evaporation,  ebullition,  distillation.  The 
latent  heat  of  vapors.  The  principle  of  the  steam  machine.  Expansion. 
The  ideas  of  thermo-dynamics.  Notions  of  the  equivalent  of  mechanics; 
work  and  heat. 

Hygrometry.  Rain.  Snow.  Dew.  Distribution  of  the  temperature 
at  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

MagJietistti. — Magnets.  Poles.  Magnetization.  Declination.  I?;- 
clination.     Compass  of  declination. 

Electricity. — Development  of  electricity  b}'  friction.  Laws  of  elec- 
trical phenomena.  Electricity  by  induction.  I^lectroscopes.  Elect'-o- 
phores.  Electric  machines.  Condensers.  Electrometer  condensers. 
Leyden  jars.  Batteries.  Atmospheric  electricity.  Lightning.  Light- 
ning-rods. Experiments  of  Galvani  and  Volta.  The  pile.  Accumulators. 
Electrical  currents.  Physiological,  mechanical,  physical  and  chemical 
effects.  Galvanoplastic,  electro-gilding,  electro-silvering.  Ivxperiments 
of  Q^r.sted.  Construction  and  uses  of  galvanometers.  Solenouk^-. 
Comparison  of  a  solenoide  and  a  magnet.  Magnetization  by  curreut^;. 
The  electromagnet.  The  telegraph.  Induction.  Apparatus  (xl'  Clarke 
and  Ruhmkorff.     Telephones. 

Acoustics. — Production  and  propagation  of  soinid,  velocity,  intcnsit>-, 
pitch,  vibration. 

Optics. — The  propagation  of  light.  Emission  and  waves  of  light. 
Umbra  and  penumbra.  Laws  of  reflection.  Spherical,  concave  and 
convex  mirrors.  Radiation  of  heat.  Refraction.  Prisms.  Lenses. 
Magnifying  glasses.  Astronomical  telescopes.  Compound  micro.scopes. 
Newton's  telescopt-.  Principles  of  photography.  Dispersion  of  light. 
Spectrum   analysis.      The  solar  .spectrum. 


97 

CHEMISTRY. — GENKRAl,    NOTIONS. 

The  General  Idea  of  Chemical  Phowmcna. — Simple  and  compound 
elements.  Metalloids  and  metals.  Different  states  of  matter.  Dissolu- 
tion. Cr>'stallization.  Dimorphism.  Polymorphism.  Isomorphism. 
Isomerism.  AUotropy.  L,a\va  of  definite  proportions.  Laws  of  multiple 
proportions.  Laws  of  Gay-Lu.ssac.  Law  of  specific  heat.  Chemical 
equivalents  and  atomic  weights.  Oral  and  written  nomenclature.  The 
usage  of  the  notation  of  equivalents  and  of  atomic  formulae. 

Oxy(^cu. — Mode  of  preparation.  Physical  and  chemical  ])n)])erties. 
Ozone.     Combustion. 

Hydrooen. — Mode  of  preparation.  Physical  and  chemical  properties. 
Physical  and  chemical  properties  of  water.  Analytical  and  synthetical 
methods  employed  for  establishing  its  composition.  Drinking  waters. 
Oxygenated  water. 

Nitrogen. — Atmospheric  air.  The  quantity  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen 
in  atmo.spheric  air.  Protoxide  and  bioxide  of  nitrogen.  Preparations, 
properties,  analy.sis.  Nitrous  acid  and  hyponitric  acid.  Nitric,  anhy- 
dride and  hydrate.  Preparation  and  purification  of  nitric  acid.  Proper- 
ties. Ammonia.  Circum.stances  under  which  this  compound  manifests 
itself.      Preparations,  physical  properties  of  ammoniac  gas,  its  analy.sis. 

Phosphorus. — Preparation.  Physical  and  chemical  properties.  Red 
phosphorus,  its  uses.  Combination  of  phosphorus  with  oxygen.  Phos- 
])horic,  anhydrite  and  hydrate.  Preparation  and  properties  of  the 
different  hydrates  formed  b}-  phosphoric  acid.  Phosphuretted  hydrogen 
gas,  liquid  and  solid. 

Arsenic. — Preparation  and  properties.  Arsenious  and  ar.senic  acid. 
Arsenetted  hydrogen.     The  apparatus  of  Marsh. 

Sulphur. — Extraction  and  purification  of  .sulphur.  Physical  proper- 
ties. Different  modifications  which  test  its  action  under  the  influence  of 
heat.  Chemical  properties  and  usage.  Sulphurous  acid.  Preparation  ; 
physical  and  chemical  properties.  Sulphuric  and  hydride  acid,  of  Nord- 
liausen  and  of  commerce.  Preparation  and  properties  of  these  different 
acids.  Sulphurous  anhydride  acid.  Preparation  and  properties.  Ri-sul- 
phur  of  hydrogen. 

Chlorine. — Preparation  ;  physical  and  chemical  properties.  Different 
applications.  Oxygen  comi)ounds  of  chlorine.  Hypochlorous  acid. 
Hydrochloric  acid.  Preparation,  properties,  analysis,  synthesis.  Aqua 
regia. 

Bromine. — Bromine,  iodine  and  fluorine.  Hydrobromic,  hydriodic 
and  hydrofuoric  acids. 

Borax. — Boric  acid. 

Silica. — Silicic  acid  and  fluor  spar. 

Carbon. — Examination  of  its  different  varieties.  Oxide  of  carbon  and 
carbonic  acid.  Preparations.  Physical  and  chemical  properties.  Composi- 
tion. Combinations  of  carbon  with  hydrogen.  Acetylene.  Carburetted 
hydrogen.  Bi-carburetted  hydrogen.  Olefiantgas.  Marsh  gas,  fire  damp, 
Davy's  lamp,  illuminating  gas,  flame.      Carbonic  di-sulphide. 

Cyafiogen. — C3'anhydric  acid. 

RSsumc. — Classification  of  metalloids  in  their  natural  families. 


98 

Metals  in  General. — Their  properties  and  classifications  .  Alloys, 
metallic  oxides  ;  general  preparation  of  metallic  oxides  ;  potassium,  soda 
and  lime  ;  sulphides  ;  chlorides  ;  sea  salt. 

Brief  Amotions  Concerni7ig  Metallurgy. — Iron,  brass  and  steel;  lead 
and  copper.    Tin  and  zinc.    Silver .   Aluminum. 

Salts. — Their  general  properties.  The  laws  of  Berthollet.  General 
notions  in  regard  to  the  ordinar}'  metals. 

History  of  France.     From  the  time  of  Henrv  IV.  to  1875. 

Henr\'  IV.  The  Edict  of  Nantes.  Sully.  Louis  XIII.  Richelieu. 
War  against  the  Protestants  and  nobility.  Thirty  Years"  War  .  The  peace 
of  Westphalia.  Louis  XIV.  Mazarin  and  the  Fronde.  The  treaty  of  the 
Pyrenees.  Personal  government,  foreign  relations.  Treaties  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  Nimegue,  Ryswick  and  LTtrecht.  Interior  government ; 
finances ;  industiy ;  commerce,  and  Colbert.  Military  organization  : 
Louvois.  \^auban.  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  :  its  political  and 
industrial  consequences.  Letters,  arts  and  sciences  in  the XVII.  century. 
Louis  XV.  Law's  system.  Wars  of  succession  in  Poland,  of  succession 
in  Austria.  The  vSeven  Years'  War.  Dupleix  and  Bourdonnais. 
Choiseul.  First  Division  of  Poland.  Louis  XVI.  Turgot's  Ministr>'. 
The  Parliaments  and  the  ro\'al  power.  The  war  in  America.  Founding 
of  the  United  vStates.  The  P'rench  Revolution.  The  States  General. 
The  constituent  and  legislative  a.ssemblies.  The  Convention.  Trial  of 
Louis  XVI.  Girondins  and  the  "  Mountain."  The  ninth  of  Thermidor. 
Exterior  events.  Valmy.  Jemmapes.  Fleurus.  The  second  and  third 
division  of  Poland.  The  Directory.  Bonaparte  in  Italy.  Campo-P'ormio. 
Expedition  against  Egypt.  Consulate.  Civil  Code.  Concordat.  Peace 
of  Luneville  and  of  Amiens.  The  Empire.  The  European  coalition. 
Campaigns  against  Germany  and  against  Prussia.  The  war  in  Spain. 
Expedition  against  Russia.  Campaign  in  France.  The  I^rst  Restoration. 
Louis  XVIII.  and  the  Charter  of  18 14.  The  One  Hundred  Days. 
Waterloo.  The  Second  Restoration.  Charles  X.  Navarin.  Taking  of 
Algiers.  The  July  ordinances  and  days.  Louis  Philippe.  The  Febru- 
ary Revolution.  Second  Empire.  Crimean,  Italian  and  Mexican  wars. 
War  against  Prussia.  Proclamation  of  the  Republic.  Letters,  arts  and 
science  during  the  fir.st  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Geographical 
discoveries.  Progress  of  commerce  and  indu.stry.  Treaty  of  Frankfort. 
The  Commune.  The  Presidency  of  M.  Thiers  and  of  Marshal  Mac- 
Mahon.     Con.stitution  of  1875. 

TA  thorough  study  is  required  of  the  treaties  which  liave  been  made 
with  foreign  powers,  and  their  economic  consequences.) 

GKOGRAl'IIV. 

Object  and  usefulness  of  this  study.  Geographical  nomenclature. 
Division  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  into  land  and  water.  Continents. 
Principal  .seas.     The  usefulness  of  map  drawing  in  the  .study  of  geography. 

/•'ranee. — Extent  and  population.  Sea  coa.st  and  land  boundaries. 
Description  of  the  Pyrenees,  Aljis  and  Jura.  Neighboring  States.  Inter- 
ior mountains.  Cevennes,  the  mountains  of  Charolais,  Cote-d'Or,  plateau 
of  Langres,  mountains  of  Inuicilles,  Jura,  mountains  of  Auvergne,  and 
of  Limousin,  Morvan.  Mountains  of  Normandy,  of  Brittany,  of  Aragon 
and  Ardennes,  and  Vosge.s.  The  general  outlines  of  the  .sc])arati(m  of  the 
waters,  and  the  division  of  France  into  water-sheds.      Basins  of  the  Seine, 


99 

of  L^ire,  of  Garonne,  and  of  the  Rhone.  Description  of  these  rivers. 
Tributaries.  Principal  cities  situated  on  their  banks.  Secondary  basins. 
The  basins  of  the  vScheldt,  of  the  Meuse,  and  of  the  Rhine  (French  jmrt), 
these  studied  in  the  same  manner  as  the  preceding.  Division  of  France 
into  departments.  Administrati\-e  division.  The  principal  railroad  sys- 
tems.     Principal  canals. 

Aljs^icrs. — Physical  and  ])olitical  description,  situation,  boundaries, 
the  Tell,  high  plateaus,  the  Sahara. 

The  French  Colonics. — In  America,  in   Africa,  in  Asia,  in  Oceanica. 

Countries  under  French  Protection. — In  Africa  and  in  Asia. 

Furope. — Physical  and  political  description  of  the  principal  countries 
of  Europe,  capitals,  .seaports,  principal  cities,  frontiers  of  British  Isles,  of 
Belgium,  of  the  Netherlands,  of  the  German  P^mpire,  of  Switzerland,  of 
Austria,  of  Russia,  of  Spain,  of  Portugal,  of  Ital}',  of  Greece,  of  Turkey 
in  luirope,  of  the  Danube  principalities,  of  vSweden,  of  Norway,  of 
Denmark. 

Asia. — Principal  countries,  their  boundaries,  mountains,  rivers,  prin- 
cipal cities.     Empire  of  India.     China,  Japan. 

Africa. — Principal  countries,  their  boundaries,  mountains,  rivers, 
principal  cities. 

North  Atncrica. — United  States,  Canada. 

Central  America. — Principal  countries. 

Sojith  America. — Brazil,  Uruguay,  Paragua}-,  Argentine  Republic, 
Chili,  etc. 

Oceanica. — Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  pos.se.ssions  of  Holland  and 
vS]xiin. 

DRAWING. 

F'igure.  decoration,  flowers,  landscape,  animals.  Studies  from  casts 
and  from  nature.  The  reproduction  of  different  objects  within  a  fixed 
space  of  time.  Reproduction  of  objects  from  memory.  Linear  drawing. 
Architectural  drawing.      Wash-coloring. 

PENMANSHIP. 

Theoretical  and  practical  exercises  in  the  different  styles  of  penman- 
ship.     Numerous  exerci.ses  in  writing  a  running  hand. 

LIVING    LANGUAGES. 

Themes,  translations,  practice  in  conversation. 


UM^ 


Programs  of  the  Regular  Courses  in  the  School  of  Higher 
Commercial  Studies. 


TABLE    OF    EXAMINATIONS    HELD    AND    MARKS    Tu    BE    OBTAINED    DURING 
THE   ACADEMIC    COURSE. 


SUBJECTS  OF  INSTRUCTION 


■s  , 

l^T3 

o  c 

a-^ 

•"  a 

^ 

f  2 

^n 

^ 

^ 

O 

OS 


Commerce  and  Accounting 
First  Foreign  Language  f 
Second  Foreign  Language  t 

Mathematics 

Study  of  Merchandise 
Tests  and  Analyses 

Commercial  Geography . 

Commercial  History 

Elements  of  Public  Law  and  of  French 

Civil  Law  ... 

Commercial,    Maritime     and    Industrial 

Legislation  .    •    . 

Foreign  Connnercial  Legislation  .    . 

Political  Economy  

Labor  Legislation 

Financial  and  Customs  Legislation       .    . 
Study  of  Transportation       ... 
Studyof  the  Means  of  Commerce  motors, 

telegraph,  telephone,  liarbors.railroads, 

etc.)    . .    .  •        . 

Penmanship 


lO 

25 
16 


20 
15 


Total '657    684 


2 

2 

6 
7 
7 
6 

5 
4 

2 
2 

I 

40 

3 
3 
2 

2 

I 
2 

2 

18 

2 

■  • 
4 

6 
7 
7 
5 
4 

■4 

I 

3 

I 

2 
I 

I 

42 

29 
26 

8  I  24 
8  I  22 
7  i   18 


4 
17 

4 


6  i  13 

2  i     3 


4  I 

2  I 

3  I 
3  i 


80 


MINISTERIAL     INSTRUCTION. 

III.  It  was  not  the  intention  of  the  committees  who  revised  the 
proj^ram  to  avoid  repeating  all  the  head  titles  ;  it  is  expressl}'  intended 
each  time  tliat  the  same  subject  should  appear  in  the  different  courses  but 

*  Knch  lesson,  except  the  lesson"*  in  laniaruajje  and  penmansliip.  last  one  hour  and  twenty  miiintes 
t  In   forciRn  lanKuajjes,  the  mark  fpvLU  on   the  day  fixed  for  the    special  examination,  is  the 

river.-ipe  of  the  marks  on  compositions  and  <|ucsti()ns  which  have  been  written  since  the  last  .special 

examination. 

1  Kach  year  a  niaik  irom  o  to  20  is  piven  for  care  in  k<-epinK  their  note-books  and   liookkeejiinK 

lK>oks      The  simi  ol   the  marks  tints  obtained  comprises  the  marks  for  department  intended  by  the 

Mini.sterial  Order  of  July  27,  i«9i,  and  amonnts  to  i<y8x2o      39iVj. 


101 

should  not  be  treated  by  each   professor,  except  from   the  standpoint    of 
the  special  instructions  which  he  is  to  give. 

The  same  distinction  should  also  be  present  in  the  mind  of  the  exam- 
iners for  graduation,  in  the  questions  on  those  subjects  which  are  found 
simultaneously  prescribed  in  the  various  programs. 

KHGUI.AR    COURSK. 

Commerce  and  Accountluir. —  Two  year.s — First  year,  120  lessons; 
second  year,  120  lessons. 

Instruction  in  the  Ideas  of  Commerce,  of  Arithmetic,  and  of  Algebra 
.Applied  to  Commerce,  and  of  Accounting  Should  be  Simultaneous. — It 
should  be  at  the  same  time  theoretical  and  practical,  and  the  professors 
should  make  use  of  numerous  practical  exercises. 

The  course  on  the  explanations  of  commerce  places  under  the  eyes 
of  the  pupils  specimens  of  the  different  commercial  documents  which 
they  are  to  stud>-. 

In  the  lessons  on  arithmetic  and  algebra,  as  applied  to  commerce, 
one  part  should  always  be  reserved  for  practical  exercises  in  rapid  calcu- 
lation, oral  and  written. 

The  theoretical  explanation  of  accounting  should  be  accompanied, 
during  the  first  year,  by  the  practice  of  keeping  a  complete  set  of  books, 
and  during  the  second  year  by  the  formation  of  developed  treatises. 

I.       IDKAS    Ol"    CeiMMERClC    AXI)    TliK  STUDY  OI''    COM.MJCKCIAL    DOCU.MKNTS. 

FIRST    YEAR. 

Commerce. — Of  commerce  in  general,  wholesale  and  semi-wholesale 
business,  retail  business,  domestic  commerce,  foreign  commerce,  importa- 
tion, exportation. 

Persons  Engaged  in  Commerce. — Manufacturers,  merchants,  bankers, 
brokers,  bucket-shop  brokers,  remitters,  produce  brokers,  naval  brokers, 
commissioners,  agents,  those  who  give  warehouse  bonds,  transportation 
of  commerce,  etc. 

Exchanges. — Nature  of  exchanges.  Commercial  exchange.  Buy- 
ing and  selling  for  cash,  with  and  without  discount.  Buying  and  selling 
on  time  or  on  account,  with  or  without  interest.  The  art  of  buying  and 
.selling.  General  principles.  Knowledge  of  products.  Knowledge  of 
affairs.  The  study  of  markets  and  markets  for  exports.  The  calcula- 
tion  of  expected  gain. 

Documents  Relating  to  Exchange. — Orders  of  purchase.  Bills  of  sale. 
Invoice.  Bill.  Quittance.  Memorandum.  Goods  on  commission. 
Delivery  of  goods.     Receipt  of  goods.     Sample  cards,  etc. 

Rci^ulations  of  Exchange. — Of  money.  Of  bank  bills.  Of  paper 
money.  Of  checks.  Drafts  payable  to  order.  Letters  of  exchange. 
Mandates.  Assignments.  Letters  of  credit.  Offsets.  Settling  accounts, 
in  specie,  in  bank  bills,  in  jiaper  money,  by  checks,  bv  clearing 
accounts. 

Transportation. — Transportation  by  wagon,  by  railroads,  by  canals 
and  rivers.  Ocean  tran.sportation.  Packing  and  shipping  goods.  For- 
malities of  .'ihipping.  Insurance.  Tags.  Detailed  shipping  memoran- 
dum.     Consignment.      Different  shipping  tariffs.      Insurance  premiums. 


102 

Custom  Houses  and  hiternal  Revenue. — The  method  of  administering 
the  laws  relating  to  customs  duties  and  internal  revenue.  The  system 
of  taxing  alcoholic  drinks.      Permits.     Various  documents. 

Warehouses. — Docks.  Common  warehouses.  Their  function .  War- 
rants and  receipts.     Selling  in  warehouses.      Public  selling,  etc. 

SECOND   YEAR. 

Bankers. — The  usefulness  of  bankers  and  of  banks  of  credit.  Ordi- 
nary bank  operations.  Discount  and  collections  on  commercial  paper, 
invoices,  receipts,  etc.  Banks  of  deposit.  Banks  of  deposits,  of  issue, 
for  depositing  valuables.  Loans  on  mortgages,  on  merchandise,  on  var- 
ious sorts  of  liens.  Payment  of  coupons.  Opening  of  credit.  Issuing 
checks,  mandates,  letters  of  credit,  etc.  Bureaus  of  settlement.  A  clear- 
ing-house.    Practical  function.     Clearing-house  of  L,ondon. 

The  Exchange. — Its  functions. 

Produce  Exchanges. — Business  conducted  in  them.  Cash  operations. 
Time  operations.  vSpeculative  markets.  Averages.  Branches  ;  the  clos- 
ing up  of  branches  ;  options  for  acceptance,  options  for  delivery,  double 
options,  produce  quotations.  Produce  brokers.  Bureaus  of  settlement. 
Their  functions. 

The  Stock  J'lxchange. — Examination  of  quotations,  government 
bonds,  capital  stock,  dividends.  Bonds.  Shares.  Goods.  Bills  payable 
to  bearer.     Bills  payable  to  order.     Transfers.     Conversion. 

The  different  forms  of  investments.  Permanent  investments.  French 
bonds  (rentes).  Foreign  public  bonds.  Bonds  French  and  foreign. 
Preferred  stock.  Investments  in  variable  securities.  Stock  of  loan  asso- 
ciations, of  railroads,  of  industrial  enterpri.ses.  The  investments  in  per- 
manent securities  and  lotteries.  Bonds  of  the  Land  Credit  Bank  (Credit 
Foncier)  of  France,  municipal  bonds  of  Paris,  etc.  Temporary  inve.^^t- 
ments.  Time  loans.  Treasury  bonds.  vSavings  banks.  Current  accoinits 
of  deposits  in  banks.  Ca.sh  operations.  Time  operations.  Ca.sh  and 
time  operations  combined.  Brisk  markets,  premium  markets  ;  scale  of 
])remiums,  options  ;  settlements  ;  time  loans  ;  delays  ;  di.scouiit  ;  rate  of 
settlement. 

Insurance. — h.  practical  examination  of  the  different  methods  of 
insurance :  life  insurance,  fire  insurance,  insurance  against  accident. 
Insurance  on  merchandi.se  ;  maritime  in.surance. 

Business  Syndicates. — The  grouping  of  capital  in  order  to  oarr>-  on 
connnercial,  financial,  industrial  or  agricultural  operations. 

FIRST    YEAR. 

Ideas  Relating  to  Connnercial  and  Industrial  Management. — Organi- 
zation of  a  mercantile  establishment ;  order ;  economy.  Of  capital 
nece.s.sary  for  the  enterprise.  The  necessity  of  carefully  detennining  it. 
Fixed  capital.  Circulating  capital.  Of  raw  material.  Of  merchandi.se. 
Of  production.  Of  marketing.  Of  hand  labor.  General  expenses: 
constant  general  exiicnses  and  variable  general  exi)en.ses.  Importance 
of  exact  estimation  of  the.se  expenses.  Their  infiuence  on  the  net  co.st 
according  to  the  private  marks  of  the  person  engaged  in  manufacturing 
or  commerce.  Importance  of  accounts.  Knowledge  and  statistics  which 
they  give.  ICxact  determination  of  the  net  cost.  The  permanence  of  an 
invcntorv  which  is  taken.      On   the  conduct  of  business.      The  moral  and 


103 

material  conditions  which  prepare  one  for  success.  Of  credit  and  the 
methods  of  using  it.  Publicity  ;  utility  ;  different  methods,  their  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages.  The  position  of  middle-men.  The  duties  of 
the  employe,  of  the  person  engaged  in  commerce  or  industry,  of  the 
administrator,  of  the  silent  partner,  of  the  authorized  agent,  of  the 
stockholder. 

II.     ARITHMETIC  AND  ALGKBR.V  APPLIED   TO   COMMKRCK.       (KIKST    VICAK.  ) 

Mental  Calculation,  Rapid  Calculation . — Daily  exercises.  vStudy  of 
the  means  of  abljreviating  arithmetical  operations. 

Interest,  Discount,  Commissions. — Definitions  of  interest.  E.xercises 
by  the  method  of  numbers  and  divisors.  Exercises  by  using  aliquot 
parts.  Definition  of  di.scount.  Domestic  di.scount  ;  foreign  discount. 
Average  time  of  payment.  Equation  of  payments.  Calculation  of  bills 
of  discount  at  different  rates.  Of  commissions.  Manner  of  applying  it 
and  calculating  it  on  bills  of  discount,  and  collections,  and  by  means  of 
the  bank  method.  Relation  of  commission  and  interest :  establishment 
of  tables  of  comparison.     Exercises  in  calculating  compound  interest. 

Accounts  Current  and  Interest. — Definition  of  accounts  current  and 
of  interest ;  calculation  by  numbers  and  by  aliquot  parts.  The  Hamburg 
method.  Rule  for  this  method.  Advantages  which  it  presents.  The 
direct  method.  The  rule  for  this  method  with  and  without  interest- 
Advantages.  Method  indirect  or  retrograde.  Rule  and  advantages  of 
this  method.  Practical  exercises  in  the  three  methods.  Different  kinds 
of  accounts  current :  (i)  Accounts  current  calculated  and  determined  at 
each  change  in  the  rate  of  interest  ;  (2)  Accounts  current  calculated  and 
determined  for  fixed  periods  and  at  a  uniform  rate  of  interest  both  on  the 
debits  and  credits  ;  (3)  Accounts  current  calculated  and  determined  for 
fixed  periods  at  a  different  rate  of  interest  for  the  debits  and  credits  ;  (4 ) 
Accounts  current  calculated  and  determined  after  each  transaction  of  the 
debit  or  credit.  Practical  exercises  with  application  of  the  different  com- 
missions and  different  markets. 

The  Different  Systems  of  Weights,  Measures  a)id  Money. — Explana- 
tion of  the  principal  systems.  Comparison  with  the  metric  system.  The 
reduction  of  foreign  monej^  into  francs  and  vice  versa.  The  intrinsic  par 
value,  the  tabulated  value  and  the  commercial  value  of  moneys.  Employ- 
ment of  the  chain  rule. 

Of  the  Net  Cost  and  of  the  Comparison  of  .1/erchan discs. — Feigned 
accounts  of  purcha.se  and  of  sale.  The  estimation  of  the  factors  of  the 
net  co.st.  Of  the  calculation  of  expenses.  Manner  of  grouping  them. 
Construction  of  a  .scale  of  net  co.sts  and  matiner  of  using  it.  Gross  com- 
parisons, net  comparisons.  Comparison  of  weights.  Comparisons  of 
price.  The  usefulness  of  these  comparisons  in  order  to  know  whether  to 
buy  of  or  sell  to  a  foreigner.  Application  of  the  different  operations  to 
merchandise. 

Algebra. — The  application  of  algebra  to  tlic  solution  of  problems  of 
interest,  of  discount,  of  alligation,  of  partnership,  and  in  the  reduction 
of  moneys. 

SI-XOXD    VE.\K. 

Operations  on  the  Exchangee. — Calculation  of  ca.sh  operations  on  the 
exchange  :  purchases,  sales,  arbitration  of  exchanges,  calculation  of  these 


104 

operations.  Expenses  of  which  it  is  necessary  to  take  account.  Calcu- 
lation of  time  operations  :  purchases,  sales,  brisk  markets,  premium  mar- 
kets, combined  markets,  scale  of  premiums.  Calculation  of  operations  on 
the  produce  exchange.  Cash  operations :  purchases,  sales,  expenses. 
Time  operations  :  purchases,  sales.     Branches. 

Bank  Operations. — The  precious  metals.  Calculation  of  alloys. 
Gold  and  silver  quotations.  Calculation  of  the  value  of  an  ingot  at  Paris 
and  at  London. 

Gold  Points. — Comparisons  of  gold.  Comparison  of  pound  sterling, 
of  marks,  of  florins,  of  roubels,  and  of  dollars. 

Exchanges. — Definition  of  exchange.  Lecture  on  quotations. 
Negotiable  paper  due  in  three  months.  Sight  drafts.  Markets  giving 
variable,  and  markets  giving  invariable  quotations.  Exercises  in  the 
calculation  of  exchanges.  Theoretical  methods,  practical  methods. 
Employment  of  the  chain  rule.  Application  of  algebra.  Equation  of 
exchanges. 

Arbitration. — Definition.  The  position  of  the  debtor  :  methods  of 
settling  his  debt.  Position  of  the  creditor.  Means  of  recovering  what  is 
due  him.  Of  speculators  or  arbitrators  of  exchanges.  Calculation  of 
arbitration  on  the  State  bonds  and  other  paper  on  the  exchange. 

Figure  Quotations. — Definition.  The  usefulness  of  figure  quotations. 
The  quotations  of  the  different  markets  giving  figure  quotations  at  Paris. 
Problems  and  operations  on  the  different  quotations.  Figure  quotations 
in  foreign  markets.  Joined  and  compared.  Calculation  of  feigned 
operations. 

Orders  on  Banks. — The  separation  of  orders  on  banks  into  two  parts  : 
first,  orders  on  foreign  banks  transmitted  to  Paris  ;  second,  orders  on  the 
bank  of  Paris  transmitted  to  foreigners.  Elements  of  which  the  orders 
on  banks  are  composed  :  first,  limited  ;  second,  the  price  of  purchase  of 
})aper  on  demand  ;  third,  price  of  sale  of  drafts.  Arbitration  and  com- 
]mrison  of  these  three  elements.  Determination  of  the  profit  or  loss  b\- 
the  operation.  Expenses  of  which  it  is  necessary  to  take  account  in 
arbitration  :  .stamps,  brokerage,  transportation,  insurance.  Detailed 
statement  of  the  different  expenses  for  the  principal  financial  countries, 
and  expcn.ses  which  must  be  added  to  the  price  of  purchase,  or  must  be 
deducted  from  tlie  price  of  .sale. 

III.       ACCOUNTING. — ELEMENTS  AND  GENER.VL  TITKORV  OF    ACCOUNTING. 

(FIRST    VHAR.) 

Principal  Terms  used  in  Accounting. — Debtor.  Creditor.  Debit. 
Credit.  Receipts.  Expenses.  Accounting.  Keeping  the  books.  Defi- 
nitions.     Different  kinds  of  accountants. 

P/ie  .\ccount. — Definition  of  the  account.  Manner  of  disposing  of 
an  account.  An  account  which  receives  and  an  account  which  gives  out. 
The  cash  book  taken  as  an  example.  Practical  exercises.  Illustrations 
(jf  the  movements  of  receipts  and  expenses.  Closing  and  reopening  of 
cash  accounts.  Agreement  of  the  account  which  receives  with  the  account 
which  pays  out.  Inverse  entry  of  the  fluctuations  in  the  respective 
accounts.  Impersonal  accounts,  repre.senting  the  wealth,  composing  the 
inventory  of  the  enterprise.  Personal  accounts,  repre.senting  the  debtors 
or  creditf)rs  of  the  enterpri.se. 


105 

The  Journal — Uefinitiou.  Disposition  of  the  jcninuil.  Formula  for 
entries  in  the  journal.  Single  journal.  Divided  journal.  Different 
methods  of  dividing  the  journal.  Auxiliary  or  analytical  journal  of  the 
cash  transactions,  of  receipts  and  of  expenses,  of  bills,  of  the  shop,  of  the 
manufactory,  etc.,  and  of  the  transactions  by  correspondence.  General 
or  synthetical  journals.  Models.  Formula  of  articles  recapitulating  the 
tran.sactions  of  the  auxiliary  journal  to  the  general  journal.  Practical 
exercises  with  illustrations.  The  additional  usefulness  of  the  auxiliary 
journal  and  the  general  journal. 

The  Ledger. — Definition.  Disposition  of  the  ledger.  Single  ledger. 
Divided  ledger.  General  or  synthetical  ledger,  auxiliary  or  analytical 
ledger.  Models.  Relation  of  the  journal  to  the  ledger.  Practical  exer- 
ci.ses  in  opening  accounts  and  of  the  relation  of  entries  of  the  journal  in 
the  ledger.  Precautions  to  be  taken  in  order  to  avoid  errors.  Agreement 
of  the  general  journal  and  the  general  ledger.  Agreement  of  the  general 
ledger  and  the  auxiliary  ledger. 

CoIIeeiive  Aecounb. — Definition.  The  usefulness  of  collective  accounts 
in  order  to  control  the  collections  of  the  open  accounts  in  the  auxiliary 
ledger,  and  in  order  to  simplify  the  balancing  of  the  accounts. 

BahDU'in^-  Aeeounts. — Definition.  Agreement  of  the  entries  in  the 
journal  and  of  the  accounts  in  the  ledger  obtained  by  balancing  accounts. 
Periodical  balances.  Daily  balances.  The  advantage  of  frequent  balances. 
A  model  for  balancing  the  general  ledger,  with  and  without  collective 
accounts.  Models  for  balancing  the  auxiliary  ledger.  Models  for  balancing 
the  general  ledger,  with  methodical  classification  of  the  accounts.  ' '  Chiff- 
rier-balances."  Definition.  Their  functions,  their  utility  for  obtaining 
balances  in  enterprises  having  a  great  number  of  accounts.  Daily  balances 
obtained  by  means  of  the  figure  balance,  whatever  the  number  of  accounts. 

Division  and  Classification  of  Accounts. — The  different  species  of 
accounts.  Necessity  of  a  classification.  Mathematical  expression  for 
comtnercial  operations.  The  rational  classification  which  results  in  : 
Accounts  of  nominal  capital.  Accounts  of  property  by  means  of  which 
the  enterprises  are  carried  on.  Accounts  of  persons  both  debtors  and 
creditors.     Accounts  of  profits.      Permanence  of  the  inventory. 

Analysis  of  the  Different  Series  of  .Iccounts. — Accounts  of  the  nominal 
capital  of  the  enterprise  :  Capital  .stock.  Bonds.  Reserves.  Different 
amortizations.  Accounts  of  propert}-  contained  in  the  inventory  by  means 
of  which  the  enterprises  are  carried  on  (net  cost  of  this  property)  : 

a.  Fixed  Properties :  Stock  in  trade.  Shares.  Expense  of  settle- 
ment,    lyicen.ses.      Realties.      Personal  property.     Material. 

l>.  Movable  Properties  :  Money.  Bills  receivable.  Various  kinds  of 
paper.     Raw  material.     Stock  on  hand. 

e.  Property  Actively  linc^aged :  Manufactures.  Buildings.  Specula- 
tions. Joint  accounts.  Joint  stock  companies.  Agencies.  Lands,  etc. 
Debit  and  credit  accounts  of  persons  (at  the  price  of  sale  or  of  purchase) . 
Accounts  of  profits  (debits  or  credits  of  the  differences  between  the  net 
cost  and  the  selling  price) .  Accounts  of  sales.  Accidental  gains  and 
losses.  Results  of  the  different  operations.  General  expenses.  State- 
ment of  the  cost  of  management. 

Inventory.  Balance  Sheet. — The  inventory  balance  with  the  classifi- 
cation of  the  account.  Taking  an  inventory  of  the  a.ssets.  Balance  sheet. 
Book  of  balances.      Book  of  inventories. 


106 

APPLICATIONS. — TREATISES.        i SECOND    YEAR.) 

The  Arrangement  of  Books  and  of  Accounts. — The  general  principles 
of  arranging  the  books  and  accounts  of  capitalists,  of  persons  engaged 
in  commerce,  industry  and  agriculture.  The  opening  of  books  of 
different  societies  ;  finns  ;  joint  stock  companies  or  corporations  ;  limited 
joint  stock  companies  ;  co-operative  societies  ;  civil  societies  ;  mutual  aid 
societies  ;  partnerships.  The  function  of  the  nomenclature  of  the  various 
series  of  accounts.  The  advantage  of  a  certain  order  of  accounts  in  eacl) 
series. 

Private  Accounts. — An  inventory  giving  the  composition  of  the  capi- 
tal on  beginning  the  business.  Opening  of  accounts  made  to  conform  to 
this  inventory  and  in  the  order  of  a  rational  classification.  Operations 
comprising  a  certain  period  :  expenses,  receipts,  purchase  and  sale  of 
shares,  management  of  real  estate,  a  business  having  one  partner  who  has 
unlimited  responsibility,  etc.  Inventory  of  the  assets  to  determine  the 
condition  of  the  capital  at  the  clo.se  of  management.      Balance  sheet. 

FIRST    YEAR. 

Commercial  Accounts. — Inventory  giving  the  composition  of  the  capi- 
tal at  the  beeinning  of  the  undertaking.  Opening  of  accounts  made  to 
conform  to  this  inventor>',  and  in  the  order  of  a  rational  clavSsification. 
A  series  of  commercial  operations  comprising  purchases,  sales,  return.^, 
different  rules  concerning  cash  payments,  time  transactions,  and  giving 
credit;  consignments,  partnership  affairs,  current  account  with  a  bank, 
etc.  Function  of  the  account  of  purchases,  of  account  of  stock,  of 
account  of  sales.  General  expenses.  Statistical  abstract  of  these 
expenses,  partly  in  the  auxiliary'  ledger,  partly  by  means  of  a  synoptical 
table.  Apportionment  of  the  general  expenses  in  the  account  of  pur- 
chases. Annual  amortization  of  the  fixed  capital.  Inventor>^  of  accounts 
to  determine  the  condition  of  the  capital  at  the  close  of  the  undertaking. 
Balance  sheet.      Inventory  book. 

SECOND    YEAR. 

Industrial  Accoicnts. — Inventory  giving  the  composition  of  the  capi- 
tal at  the  beginning  of  the  enterpri.se.  Opening  of  accounts  made  t<* 
conform  to  this  inventory,  and  in  the  order  of  a  cla.ssical  classification. 
Arrangement  of  the  books  and  of  the  entries,  because  of  the  division  of 
industrial  labor,  and  in  order  to  obtain  in  a  methodical  way  the  net  cost 
of  the  manufactured  objects. 

Purchases  of  raw  material  in  France  or  in  foreign  countries.  Accounts 
of  purchases  and  accounts  of  stock  of  raw  material  debited  at  the  average 
net  cost  of  the  purchases. 

Manufacture  or  swccesisive  transformation  of  raw  material.  Accounts 
of  manufacture  (an  account  of  manufactures  for  each  .step  of  the  trans- 
formation of  material).  Periodical  apportionment  of  the  raw  material, 
of  the  hand  labor  and  of  the  general  expenses  in  the  account  of  manufac- 
ture. Determination  of  the  co-efficient  of  apportionment  of  the  general 
expen.ses.  Manufactured  Objects :  accounts  of  the  manufactiu-ed  objects 
in  tlie  warehouse  ;  placing  these  objects  in  the  accounts  of  mamifactun 
at  the  ultimate  net  co.st.  Sales :  account  of  .sales,  debited  at  the  net  cost, 
credited  at  the  price  of  sale.     Other  accounts  of  profits  :   accidental  gain^ 


107 

and  losses,  results  of  the  different  operations,  commissions,  etc.  Closiini- 
the  Undertaking :  the  inventory  of  material,  of  personal  property,  of 
fixed  property,  of  the  cash  on  hand,  of  bills,  of  raw  material,  of  material 
in  the  course  of  manufacture  and  of  manufactured  products.  The  dif- 
ferent amortizations.  Inventory  of  the  accounts.  Settlements.  Deter- 
mination of  the  results  and  of  the  condition  of  the  capital  at  the  close  of 
the  enterprise.     Balance  sheet.     Inventory  book. 

Treatises. — Accoinits  of  a  bank  with  accounts  relating  to  the  opera- 
tions of  purchase  and  of  sale,  of  bullion,  of  exchanges,  of  arbitration,  of 
the  issuing  of  shares,  of  financial  partnerships.  Accounting  of  a  commis- 
sioner. Bookkeeping  of  a  ship  owner.  Principles  of  bookkeeping  of  a 
railroad  company,  of  an  insurance  company,  of  a  savings  bank.  Princi- 
ples of  agricultural  bookkeeping. 

Diagrams  of  Accounting. — The  execution  by  the  pupils  of  synoptical 
tables,  summing  up  the  classification  and  the  function  of  the  accounts  of 
the  different  sorts  of  bookkeeping.  Comparative  study  of  these  diagrams 
and  of  balance  sheets. 

COMMERCIAL    CORRESPONDKNCK.        (FIRST  AND   SECOND  YEARS.  ) 

The  necessity  of  carrying  on  business  by  correspondence  in  order  to- 
be  able  to  trace  the  difi"erent  operations.  Style  of  commercial  correspond- 
ence. Exercises.  Registering  and  classifying  of  mail  trains.  Cop}-  of 
letters  and  a  book  of  departure  of  mail  trains.      Book  of  postal  rates. 

FOREIGN    I^ANGUAGES.        (TWO    YEARS.) 

Table  A   *^"g^i^^^   |  First  Year 165  lessons. 

( German  )  Second  Year "         " 

Table  B   I  Spanish    |  First  Year 100  lessons. 

I  Italian     j  Second  Year ' '         " 

The  pupils  must  give  proof  at  the  entrance  examinatioti  that  they  are 
able  to  translate  readily  English,  German,  or  Spanish.  They  continue 
in  the  school  the  studies  which  they  have  commenced,  and  are  required 
to  learn  at  least  two  languages,  being  allowed  their  choice,  one  from  each 
table.  The  lessons  are  given  in  the  accounting  rooms  in  groups  of  from 
ten  to  twenty-five  pupils.  In  the  second  year  a  large  part  of  the  commer- 
cial correspondence  is  carried  on  in  a  foreign  language. 

MATHEMATICS.      (TWO  YEARS. )      First  Year  :  Fifty  lessons. 

Simple  Interest. — General  formula.  Methods  of  numbers  and  divis- 
ors, of  the  aliquot  parts  of  the  interest  rate,  of  the  aliquot  parts  of  time, 
of  the  aliquot  parts  of  capital.  Separation  into  proportional  parts.  Rules 
of  partnershfp. 

Discount. — Different  kinds  of  discount.  vSoIution  and  discussion  of 
the  different  problems  in  discount.  Discount  at  the  bank  of  Fi'ance. 
Method  of  Thoyer.     Improvements  introduced  by  Cauchy. 

Accounts  Current  and  Interest. — Brief  examination  of  the  three 
methods  :  First,  direct  ;  second,  indirect  or  retrograde  ;  third,  Hamburg, 
or  by  .scale. 

The  Precious  Metals  and  Monetary  Systems. — Alloys  ;  problems  relat- 
ing  to  alloys.      Moneys,   manufacture,    allowance  ;   monetary  system  of 


108 

France  ;  of  the  Latin  union  ;  monetary  systems  of  those  countries  which 
do  not  form  a  part  of  this  union.  Relative  vahie  of  gold  and  silver : 
First,  the  legal  relation  ;  second,  commercial  relation. 

Operations  on  the  Exchange. — The  modes  of  Lssviing  government 
loans.  National  subscriptions.  State  bonds.  The  ledger  of  the  public 
debt.  Floating  and  consolidated  debts.  Treasury  certificate.  The  budget. 
Amortization.  Conversion.  Stocks.  Bonds  of  railroads  and  other  com- 
panies. Dividends.  The  Exchange  of  Paris.  Brokers.  The  different 
paper  quoted.  The  bank  stock.  The  course  of  exchange.  Bank  rate. 
Brokerage.  Guarantees.  Taxes.  Stamps.  Cash  operations.  Investments. 
Sales  of  financial  paper.  Arbitration  of  the  different  bills  of  exchange. 
Definite  time  of  sales.  Discount.  Time  sales  and  at  a  premium.  Options. 
Settlement.  Prolongation  or  backwardation  of  cash  payments.  Prolonga- 
tion from  one  settlement  to  another.  Combinations  of  the  different  opera- 
tions, on  short  term  and  at  a  premium.  Scale  of  premiums.  The  commercial 
exchange.  Business  transacted  at  the  Exchange  of  Paris.  Branch  estab- 
lishments. Closing  up  branch  establishments.  Method  of  settlement. 
Options  for  acceptance.     Options  for  delivery.     Double  options. 

The  Exchange. — Definition  of  the  exchange.  Its  origin.  Bills  of 
exchange.  Domestic  exchange.  Foreign  exchange.  Checks.  Deposits. 
Long  time  and  short  time  paper.  Discount.  Exchange  quotations. 
Markets  which  give  a  fixed,  and  markets  which  give  a  variable  quotation. 
Explanation  of  the  exchange  quotations  of  Paris,  and  of  the  quotations 
of  markets  of  foreign  exchangers.  Definition  of  arbitration.  Direct  and 
indirect  arbitration.  Explanation  and  application  of  the  chain  rule.  The 
construction  of  comparative  tables.  Niunerous  exercises  in  arbitration 
between  the  markets  of  Paris,  London,  Amsterdam,  Berlin,  etc.  Arbitra- 
tion of  metals,  principally  between  the  markets  of  London  and  Paris. 
Arbitration  of  public  bonds.      Prolongations. 

THEORY    OF    tONG    TIME    FINANCIAL   OPERATIONS. 

Compound  Interest. — Definition  and  fundamental  formula.  Study 
and  discussion  of  the  two  conditions  according  to  which  one  is  able  to 
estimate  the  value  of  an  investment  at  compound  interest,  when  the  time 
is  expres.sed  by  a  fractional  number.  Generalization  of  the  theorj^  of 
exponents.  Ideas  concerning  equivalent  rates.  Formula  of  exponents 
api)licable  to  every  case.  Formula  for  present  interest  and  for  continued 
interest  applied  by  the  Frencli  and  Ivnglish  .stockholders.  General  solu- 
tion of  problems  in  compound  interest.  Practical  calculation.  The  use 
of  logarithmic  tables  and  the  numerical  tables  of  Violeine,  Pereire,  etc. 
Rule  for  computation.  Investigation  of  the  time  neces.sary  for  capital  to 
double,  triple,  etc.,  when  placed  at  compound  interest.  The  present 
worth  of  capital  due  at  a  future  time.  Di.scount.  Different  methods  of 
discount.  Comparison  and  di.scu.ssion.  The  equated  time  of  payment  of 
several  sums  maturing  at  different  dates  and  reckoned  at  compound  interest. 

Consols. — .hni  III  ties. — Periodical  Pa  vnioits. — Definitions  and  exam- 
])les.  Distinction  of  limited  or  perpetual  con.sols.  Immediate  or  differing. 
Paper,  due  at  a  fixed  time,  and  at  a  rate  of  interest  determined  by  certain 
])eriodical  payments.  The  settlement  of  a  definite  capital  by  annuities. 
General  formula  for  annuities.  Computation  of  the  different  elements. 
The  special  .study  of  the  diifiiculties  which  present  themselves  in  discover- 
ing a  rate  in  i)r()blems  in  annuities.      Algebraic  .solutions  and  approximate 


109 

practical  solutions.  Formula  of  F.  Baily  and  Makeham,  etc.  The 
annuities  or  consols  of  indefinite  maturity.  Study  of  the  principal  cases. 
Consols  varying  according  to  the  law  of  arithmetical  or  geometrical 
progression. 

The  Amortization  of  Loans  by  .hniititics. — General  relations  of  the 
capital,  the  annuity,  rate  of  interest  and  time.  Relation  of  the  rate  of 
interest  to  the  rate  of  amortization.  Formula  and  tables.  Public  loans 
contracted  by  issuing  bonds.  Construction  of  tables  by  amortization. 
Study  of  the  different  complications  which  one  nuist  encounter  in  practical 
amortization.  Numerous  examples  taken  from  the  public  loans  contracted 
partly  in  France  and  partly  in  foreign  countries.  The  choice  of  problems 
in  financial  operations  of  long  dated  bills. 

I'^robabilitics. — Chances  and  Risks. — The  elementary  ideas  of  the 
computation  of  chances.  Public  lotteries.  The  actual  value  of  a  sum 
whose  payment  is  doubtful.  Compound  probabilities.  Repetition  and 
proofs.  Law  of  great  numbers.  Theorem  of  J.  Bernoulli.  Application  of 
the  principles  of  the  calculation  of  probabilities  to  the  .study  of  the  laws  of 
human  mortality.  Probable  duration  of  life.  Probability  of  living. 
Study  of  the  risks  of  property  and  of  merchandise. 

SKCOND  YEAR  :    (twcuty-five  lessons)  application  of  thk  m.vthemati- 

CAL   THEORY    OP    FINANCIAL   OPER-VTIONS. 

The  Stocks  and  Bonds  of  Fiance  and  of  Foreign  Countries. — Histor- 
ical sketch  of  the  public  bonds  of  France.  State  consols.  Issuing.  Nego- 
tiation. A  preci,se  computation  of  the  relation  of  the  different  types  of 
consols.  Perpetual  con.sols  and  con.sols  which  may  be  amortized.  Calcu- 
lation of  equivalents.  Study  of  the  public  bonds  in  foreign  countries, 
F^ngland,  Germany,  America,  etc. 

Coytimercial  Bonds. — Railroad  Companies. — The  financial  relation 
between  the  State  and  the  large  railroad  companies.  The  agreements 
from  1859  to  1S68,  and  ultimate  modifications.*  The  net  reserve.  The 
mechanism  of  the  wear  and  tear.  Guaranteed  interests  and  subsidies 
allowed  by  the  State.  Agreements  of  1883.  Its  results  on  the  value  of 
price  of  the  bonds  and  stocks  of  the  railroads.  Capital  stock  and  divi- 
dends. Study  of  the  different  questions  relating  to  the  dissolution  of  an 
industrial  company. 

Lottery  Loans. — Special  study  of  the  loans  of  the  city  of  Paris. 
Application  of  the  principles  of  the  calculation  of  probabilities  in  esti-- 
mating  the  chances  of  a  lottery  and  of  the  chances  or  risks  of  repayment. 
Analysis  of  the  diflerent  .sy.stems  of  lottery  loans  practiced  in  France  and 
in  foreign  countries. 

Financial  Operations  on  a  long  term  of  Credit  by  the  targe  Fstabtish- 
ments  of  Credit. — Societies  of  landed  credit  (credit  foncier).  Laws  and 
operations  of  the  landed  credit  of  PVance.  Conditions  of  mortgage  loans 
and  of  loans  granted  to  the  communes  and  departments.  Land  bonds 
and  communal  bonds.  Mortgage  banks  in  Germany,  Au.stria  and  Hun- 
gary (Renten-Rechnung  bei  anticipativer  \'erzinsung ) .  The  landed  and 
agricultural  credit  of  Algiers.  Colonial  landed  credit.  Study  of  the 
operations  of  the  societies  for  landed  credit  in  the  other  countries. 

operations  of  the  Chief  Bank  Relating  to  the  Public  Issue  of 
Bonds. — The  i.ssue  of  bonds  on  the  representation  of  the  loans  granted  by 
the    large    establishments  of  credit.     Conversion  of  a  certain   loan   into 


110 

another  loan,  of  which  the  conditions  of  interest  and  amortization  are 
different.  Distinction  between  nominal  and  real  capital,  between  nominal 
and  real  rate  of  interest.  The  net  cost  of  bonds  and  the  profits  to  the 
banker  contracting  the  loan.  Average  price  according  to  a  certain  rate 
of  the  bonds,  stocks,  etc.,  of  a  certain  loan  at  a  certain  period,  and  taking 
account  of  all  the  conditions  relating  to  the  payment  of  interest,  the  price 
and  premiums  of  repayment. 

Operations  of  Insiirance  Compa^iics. — Exposition  of  the  mathemati- 
cal principles  on  which  are  based  the  tariffs  of  insurances,  on  persons  and 
on  merchandise.  Insurances  against  fire,  against  loss  by  transportation 
and  against  accidents  of  everj-  nature.  Life  annuities  on  one  or  more 
persons.  A  critical  study  of  the  ancient  and  of  modern  methods  of  cal- 
culation which  ser\'e  as  a  base  for  fixing  the  tariffs.  Insurances  in  case 
■of  death.  The  tennination  of  the  single  premium,  and  of  the  annual 
premium.  Mixed  insurances.  Insurances  for  a  definite  period.  Life 
consols.  Reser^^es  of  insurance  companies.  Insurances  guaranteed  by 
the  State.  Pension  banks.  Special  conditions  and  tariffs.  Mutual  aid 
societies.  A  brief  analysis  of  the  principal  works  published  either  in 
France  or  in  foreign  countries  on  a  mathematical  theor>'  of  financial 
operations. 

STUDY    OF    MERCHANDISE    (TWO    YEARS)  .       FIRvST    YEAR     (sixty    lesSOns) . 

Precious  Stones. — Diamonds  and  precious  .stones.  Origin,  places 
of  production.     Prospecting.     Properties.     Uses.     Commerce. 

Combustible  Material. — Definition.     Industrial  importance. 

Combustible  Solids. — Natural  vegetable  combustibles  (wood,  tan-bark 
peat).  Natural  mineral  combustibles  (lignite,  coals,  anthracite).  Com- 
bustibles derived  from  vegetable  and  mineral  combustibles  (charcoal,  peat, 
coal  or  coke,  conglomerates) . 

Combustible  Liqiiids. — Petrolemn,  oils  of  talc. 

Combustible  Gases. — Coal-gas,  oil-gas,  water-gas.  Sub-products  : 
Tar  and  ammoniac  waters,  etc.  Products  and  coloring  matter  derived 
from  tar  (for  each  of  these  matters  the  process  of  extraction  and  manu- 
facture is  explained,  the  kinds,  their  uses,  the  production,  and  the  com- 
merce ;  stati.stics  of  importations  and  exportations,  etc.). 

Chemical  Products. — J\a7c  Materials. — Sulphur  and  pyrites. 
Chloride  of  sodium  (marine  and  rock  salt).  Chloride  of  potassiunu 
Nitrate  of  .soda,  or  saltpetre  of  Chili.  Sodium  borax.  Origin.  Extrac- 
tion.    Use.      Commerce,  importations,  exportations,  etc. 

Acids. — vSulphurovis  acid.  Sulphuric  acid.  Nitric  acid.  Hydro- 
chloric acid.   Boric  acid,  etc.  Proccs.ses  of  manufacture.    U.ses.     Commerce. 

The  Alkalies. — Potassium  and  potassium  .salts.  Soda  and  the  salts 
of  soda.  Ammonia  and  salts  of  ammonia.  Proce.s.ses  of  manufacture. 
I'se.     Commerce. 

Other  Chemical  Products. — Alums  and  salts  of  alums.  Phosphonis 
and  products  which  are  connected  with  it.  Carbonic  di-sulphide.  Chloride 
of  liine.  Sulphites  and  hypo-sulphites  u.sed  in  bleaching.  Iodine  and 
iodides.  Bromine  and  bromides.  ICxplosive  materials :  powders  and 
dynamites.      Processes  of  manufacture.     U.ses.     Connnerce. 

Fertilizers  and  A/eaus  of  Improvement. — Definition.  Tlie  theory 
of  fertilization.  \'egetable,  animal  and  mineral  fertilizers.  Chemical 
fertilizers.    Means  of  improvement.   IvKtraction.    Manufacture.   Commerce. 


Ill 

Vegetablk  ok  Animal  Pkuducts  Uskd  in  thk  Akt^  and 
Industry. — Kssential  oils  and  essences.  Sweet-scented  waters.  Ex- 
tracts. Preparation.  Applications  in  perfumery.  Commerce.  Concrete 
essences.  Camphor.  Extraction.  Commerce  and  u.se  (celluloid).  Soft 
resin  or  balsams.  Extraction,  use,  commerce.  Dry  resins  :  amber,  lake- 
gum,  copal-gum  and  damir-gum.  Extraction.  Commercial  varieties. 
P^mployment.  Varnish.  Resinous  gums.  Caoutchouc  and  gutta-percha. 
Extraction.  Commercial  varieties,  use,  commerce.  Coloring  matters 
of  vegetable  and  animal  origin.  Commercial  varieties.  Commerce.  Use. 
Coloring  of  thread  and  tissues.      Impression. 

Matkrials  Used  in  Buildino. — Division  into  natural  and  artificial 
materials.     Stati.stics  given. 

Buildinir  Stones  and  Sto/us  Used  for  Ornament. — (Quarries.  (Quarry- 
ing.    Preparation.     Principal  varieties.     Use. 

Bricks. — Tiles.  Paving-tiles.  Other  materials  made  from  baked 
clay  for  building  purposes.     Process  of  manufacture. 

Mortars  and  Concretes. — Eime.      Cements.      Preparation.     Test. 

Plasters. — Gypsum.  Qualities.  Preparation  and  use.  vStucco. 
Diflferenf  kinds  of  cement. 

Woods. — Forest  statistics.  lixploitation  of  forests.  Properties, 
({ualities  and  defects  of  wood.  Causes  of  destruction,  and  means  of 
cou.ser\'ation.  Different  essences.  Employment :  in  shipbuilding,  timbers, 
constructing  railroads,  telegraph  poles,  of  props  for  mines,  lumber,  fuel, 
carpentry  and  cabinet  making,  etc.     Commerce  of  wood. 

MetaIvS. — Iron  Mines. — Tests  and  treatment. 

Brass. — Varieties  and  physical  properties. 

Iron. — Refining  and  manufacturing. 

Stee/. — Proces.ses  of  manufacturing  and  testing 

Mani^anese  :  Natural  .state. — Preparation.     Oxide. 

Cliromium,  Nickel  and  Cobalt. — Mines.  E)xtraction.  Uses  of  chro- 
mates.     Nickel-plating.     Cobalt  blue. 

Zinc. — Mines.  P^xtraction  and  preparation  of  zinc.  Important  uses. 
Flowers  of  zinc. 

Tin. — Ore.  Mines.  Metallurgy.  Properties  of  the  metal.  Numer- 
ous applications. 

Copper. — Mines.  Production.  Roasting  and  testing  of  the  ore. 
Metallurgy.     Industrial  alloys. 

Lead. — Principal  mines.  Ivxtraction.  l^sc.  Salts  and  oxides. 
White  lead.      Litharge. 

Antinioniuni. — F^xtraction  and  uses. 

Arsenic. — Extraction  and  uses. 

Cadmium. --AWoyA.  Applications  and  photography.  Yellow  cad- 
r.iium. 

Bismuth. — Preparation.      Properties.      Fusil^le  allo\s. 

Mairnesiuni. — Manufacture. 

Aluminum. — Extraction.      AluminuTu  bron/.e. 

.Mercury. — Mines.     Applications.      Mirrors.      Gildings. 

Silver. — Ores.  Places  of  production.  FvXtraction.  Alloys.  Tes.-^^. 
Importance  of  this  metal. 

(jotd. — Mines.  Nuggets.  Oriferous  sand.  I^xiraction.  Monetary 
alloys. 

/Va.'w/cw.— P^xtraction.      Properties.      Uses. 


112 

Calculation  of  the  value  of  different  minerals  of  commerce,  the 
estimation  of  the  approximate  value  of  a  mine  in  the  process  of  exploita- 
tion, or  one  which  has  just  been  discovered. 

SECOND   YEAR  (forty  lessons). 

Oleaginous  Substances  and  Industries  with  which  they  are 
Connected. — O/cagitious  Substances. — Definition.  Production.  Phj-sical 
and  chemical  properties,  classification. 

Oleaoinous  Substances  of  Vegetable  Orighi. — Oleaginous  seeds  and 
fruits.  Extraction  of  fixed  vegetable  oils.  Study  of  the  principal  vegetable 
oils.  Properties.  Uses.  Production.  Commerce.  Importations,  exportations. 

Oleagi7ioiis  Substances  of  Animal  Origin. — Strictly  animal  oils, 
neat's-foot  oil,  sea-animals,  fishes.  Extraction,  properties,  u.ses.  Com- 
merce. Fats.  Properties.  Classification.  Commercial  varieties.  Pro-" 
duction.  Extraction.  Use.  Commerce.  Spermaceti,  animal  and  vegetable 
waxes.  Production.  Use,  commerce,  manufacture  of  soap,  varieties, 
commerce,  importations,  exportations,  stearine  candles,  tallow  candles, 
wax  candles,  etc.  Manufacture.  Commerce.  Sub-products.  Acid  oils. 
Glycerine.     Uses.     Commerce. 

Vegetable  Products  Used  as  Medical  Stimulants,  Condiments  or  Foods. 
— Phannaceutic  products  (cinchona,  quinine,  opium,  etc.).  Method  of 
gathering,  of  extraction.  Employment,  commerce.  Tobacco.  Coffee. 
Tea.     Cocoa.     Spices. 

Fruits  and  vegetables  (processes  of  con.servation ) . 

Products  of  Mineral  Origin. — Glass  Making. — Raw  material. 
Window  panes.  Mirrors.  Decanters.  Showcases.  Venetian  glass. 
Bohemian  glass.  Hardened  glass.  Glass  bottles.  Crystal.  Eenses. 
Strass.  Artificial  stones.  Manufacture  and  work  in  glass.  Cutting  and 
engraving.      Economic  condition  ;  centres  of  productions,  etc.,  etc. 

Ceramics. — Clay  ;  Kaolin  ;  feldspar.  Porcelains.  Crockery.  Biscuit. 
vStoneware.  Common  pottery.  Baked  earth.  Bricks.  Tiles.  Pipes. 
F'lower-pots.  Ornamental  tiles.  Commercial  varieties.  Manufacture 
and  economic  condition. 

products    of    the    animal    CARCAvSS. 1.     HARD    Sl-BSTANCES. 

Bone. — Treatment  and  utilization. 

Horns. — Deer,  antelope,  moose,  etc. 

Horns. — Varieties.  Methods  of  working.  Hoofs.  Claws,  etc. 
vSmoothing  the  horns. 

Shells. — Gathering.     Working.      \'arieties. 

.\nimal  \Veapo)is. — Ivory.  Tusks  of:  elephant,  liippopotamus, 
walrus  and  sperm  whale. 

Articles  of  Paris. — Buttons,  combs,  toy-trade,  etc. 

II.    SOFT   substances. 

Skins. — Tanning  substances.  Green  hides.  Tanning  of  .sole 
leather  and  of  very  .soft  leather.  Currying.  Commercial  varieties. 
Tanning  of  Hungarian  leather.  Tawing.  Chamois.  Morocco.  Special 
leathers  :  varni.shed,  shagreen  and  shark  .skins.  Parchment.  Furriery. 
Leather  objects. 

Manufacture  of  Clues. — Material  for  glue.  Glues  of  Rouen,  of 
P'ianders,  of  Ciivct,  of  Alsace,  of  Germany,  of  Paris,  etc.  English  glue. 
Fi.sh  glue.      Preparation  and  u.ses. 


]i;3 

Feathers. — Preparation.   Working.     Coloring.    Commercial  varieties. 

Textiles  of  Animal  Origin. — Ilair.  Hair  of  the  goat.  Hair  of 
rabbits  and  hares.  Manes.  Horses.  Bristles  of  hogs  and  of  wild  hogs. 
Vegetable  mane.     Brush-making. 

Silk. — Silk-worm.  Cultivation.  Diseases.  W^inding  off  silk.  Silk 
throwing.     Coloring.     Commercial  varieties. 

Woolens. — Classification.  French  and  foreign  woolens.  Work  in 
woolens. 

Products  of  Vegetabi^K  Origin.  Textiles  of  I'egetable  Origin. — 
Flax.  Hemp.  Retting  and  Stripping.  Abaca.  Jute.  Phormium. 
Cotton.     Grass  cloth  plant.     Cultivation.     Gathering.     Varieties. 

Spinning  and  Weaving  of  the  Priiicipal  Textiles. — Numbering  of 
threads.  Centres  of  production  and  consumption.  Economic  conditions. 
Tissues.  Simple  stuffs,  stuffs  of  ai'morial  design,  of  arti.stic  design,  ribbed 
stuff,  stuff  having  sinuous  threads,  and  stitched  stuffs.  Looms.  Winding 
on  spools.     Felts.     Draperies. 

Paper. — Raw  material.  Paper  made  of  rags  and  of  straw.  Chemical 
wood  pulp,  mechanical  wood  pulp.  Preparation.  Ruling.  Commercial 
varieties.  Paper  money.  Paste-board,  filter  paper,  wrapping  paper, 
industrial  varieties.  Card-board.  Plain  cards.  Bookbinding  paste- 
board. Parchment  paper.  Painting  paper.  Fantastic  paper.  Printing 
paper.     Engraving.      Bookbinding  paper. 

Food  Substanees. — Cereals.  Wheat,  rice,  corn,  rj-e,  barley,  oats, 
sorghum,  millet.  Distinctive  cliaracteri.stics.  Composition.  Cultivation. 
Commerce.  Grinding.  Panification.  Pastries.  Legislation.  Economic 
condition. 

Sugar. — Cane.  Beet-roots,  varieties.  Extraction  of  tlie  sugar  juice. 
Treatment.  Raw  sugar.  Varieties  and  commercial  uses.  Sugar  refining. 
Lump,  fruit,  sugar  candy,  etc.  Molasses,  glucose,  etc.  Legislation. 
Markets.     Economic  condition. 

Drinks. —  Wines. — Vineyards,  cultivation,  diseases.  Preparation  of 
red,  white  and  sparkling  wines,  of  liquors,  of  dried  raisins,  etc.  Manu- 
facturing wine.  Sugaring.  Anchoring.  Fertilizing  with  plaster. 
Commerce,  etc. 

Beer. — Varieties.     Manufacture. 

Cider. 

Alcohol. — Distillation.  Alcohol  of  beet-roots,  of  grains,  of  potatoes, 
of  molasses,  etc. 

Vinegar. — Acetic  acid. 

Legislation  relating  to  beverages  and  the  economic  condition. ^"^ 

TESTING     MERCHANDISE,     ANALYSIS. — ADULTERATIONS.  —  (TwO    Years.) 

FIRST  YEAR  :  Twelve  Lessons. 
Test  of  combustibles,  coals,  petroleum. 
Test  of  potash,  of  soda  and  saltpetre. 
Testing  chalk.s,  bleaching  chlorides,  manganese. 
Testing  fertilizers.     Nitrogen.     Phosphoric  acid. 
Analysis  of  bronze,  of  brass,  of  iron  ore. 

Determination  of  lead  compound  with  tin.     Testing  matter  contain- 
ing gold  with  a  touch-needle.     Testing  of  matter  containing  silver. 
Analysis  of  drinkable  and  non-drinkable  waters. 

•All  the  comincrci;il  products  which  arc  not    mentioued  in  this  brief  skotoh  .ttc  treated   along 
with  related  or  derived  products. 


114 

SECOND  YEAR   (thirteen  lessons). 

Testing  of  oils.  Determination  of  the  amount  of  oil  in  oleaginous 
grains. 

Analysis  of  soap. 

Testing  of  textiles. 

Testing  of  flour,  meal,  etc. 

Testing  of  sugar,  of  bone-black. 

Analj'sis  and  adulteration  of  wine,  of  beer. 

Testing  of  milk,  of  butter. 

Testing  of  coffee,  chocolates,  spices. 

CHEMICAL,    MANIPULATIONS. — FIRST    AND    SECOND    YEARS. 

The  lessons  on  merchandise  and  raw  material  are  completed  by 
manipulations  in  the  chemical  laborator}^  in  order  to  make  observations 
under  the  microscope,  in  order  to  discover  the  frauds  to  which  the  different 
commercial  products  are  liable,  as  textile  material,  foods,  fertilizers, 
etc. 

COMMERCIAL    GEOGRAPHY. —  (TwO    YcarS.j — CHARACTER    OF 
THE   COURSE. 

The  cour.se  in  economic  geography  treats  of  the  following  matters 
for  each  country  : 

1.  A  brief  conception  of  the  territorial  formation.  Population. 
Ethnographical  ideas.  Languages.  Religions.  Political  institutions. 
Principal  administrative  divisions. 

2.  General  configuration  and  nature  of  the  .soil.  .    Climates. 

3.  Agricultural  products.  Cattle  raising.  Exploitation  of  forests. 
Agricultural  regions.      Hunting  and  fishing. 

4.  Mineral  products.  Mines  and  quarries.  Salt  mines.  Mineral 
resources.     Salt  marshes. 

5.  Manufactured  products.  Centres  of  industry.  Their  origin  :  raison 
d'etre. 

6.  Ways  of  communication.  Both  small  and  large  naviga])le  rivers. 
Canals.  Railroad  routes.  Maritime  navigation.  Seaports.  Merchant 
marine.     Navigation  companies.     Postal  services.     Telegraph  service. 

7.  Foreign  commerce.  Principal  markets.  Various  reasons  for  their 
prosperity.  Importations  and  exportations.  Usages  of  commerce. 
Special  study  of  the  commerce  of  each  country  with  France,  and  of  the 
competition  which  P'rench  Commerce  encounters. 

8.  Sy.stems  of  customs  duties.  Commercial  treaties.  Weights  and 
measures.     Moneys.      In.stitutions  of  credit. 

9.  Social  condition.     The  manners  and  national  character. 

I'iRST  vKAK    (forty  les.sons). 

/in rope. — I'rance.  British  Lsles.  German  Empire.  Netherlands. 
Belgium.  Alsace-Lorraine.  Switzerland.  Austro-Hungary.  Spain, 
Portugal.  Italy.  Danube  vStates.  Baltic  penin.sula.  Greece.  Russia. 
vScandinavian  countries. 

T/ic  Fre)ic/i  hi  Northern  .Ifriea. 

Algiers. — Physical  and  economical  geography,  inhabitants,  land 
divisions,  public  works,  administration,  budget,  .system  of  customs. 


115 

Tunis. — Development  of  colonization,  of  agriculture  and  of  com- 
merce, system  of  customs  and  treaties  of  conmierce,  taxes,  function  of  the 
Protectorate.  Religious  question  and  the  questions  indigenous  to  Algiers 
and  to  Tunis. 

SECOND  YKAR   (forty-five  lessons;. 

I.  Africa. — General  notions.  Explorations.  The  European  con- 
quests. Berlin  Congress  of  1885.  Treaties  of  1890.  Principal  lines  of 
navigation.  Region  of  the  Atlas.  Regency  of  Tripoli.  Sahara.  Islam 
and  their  religious  confederates.  Routes  of  caravans.  Projects  of  a 
railroad  across  the  vSahara.  Lslands  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Coast  of 
Guinea  and  the  Soudan.  Senegal  and  French  Soudan.  The  Niger  and 
Lake  Chad.  English  company  of  the  Niger.  French,  English  and 
German  settlements  on  the  coast  of  Guinea.  Basin  of  the  Congo,  and  the 
Western  Coast.  French  Congo.  Congo  Free  State.  Portuguese  and 
West  German  Colonies.  Southern  Africa.  The  Cape  and  Natal.  Orange 
River  Free  State.  South  African  Republic.  Eastern  Africa.  Zambese. 
English  South  African  Company.  Mozambique.  Great  lakes,  the  Eng- 
lish and  German  companies.  Zanzibar.  The  vSomali  coast.  Gulf  of 
Aden  and  the  Red  Sea.  English  possessions.  Obock.  Italians  in 
Africa.  Abyssinia.  Valley  of  the  Nile.  Egypt.  vSuez  Canal.  Islands 
of  the  Indian  Ocean.  Madaga.scar.  Comoro  and  Reunion  Lslands. 
English  po.ssessions. 

II,  Asia. — General  notions,  races  and  religions,  political  divisions, 
the  main  routes  of  land  and  sea  communication.  Western  Asia,  Turke)-- 
in  Asia  and  Arabia.  Iran  Plateau.  Persia.  Afghanistan.  Beloochi.s- 
tan.  Asiatic  Russia.  Caucasia.  Central  Asia  or  Russian  Turkestan. 
Siberia.  English  possessions.  Indian  Empire.  Ceylon.  The  Straits. 
French  India.  Indo-China.  Burmah.  Kingdom  of  Siam.  French 
Indo-China.  Cochin-china.  Cambodia.  Anam.  Tonquin.  Extreme 
Orient.     EmpiVe  of  China,  Corea.     Japan. 

III.  Occanica. — General  notions.  Principal  voyages  of  exploration. 
Physical  divisions.  Malaysia.  Possessions  of  Plolland,  England  and 
Spain.  British  Australasia.  Australia.  Tasmania.  New  Zealand. 
Fijii  Islands.  Possessions  of  F'^rance.  New  Caledonia.  F'rench  Settle- 
ments in  Oceanica.  Germans,  English.  Americans  in  Polynesia.  Hawaiian 
Islands. 

IV,  America. — General  description.  Brief  history  of  the  discoveries 
and  of  the  voyages  to  the  North  Pole.  North  America.  Political 
divi,sions.  Principal  routes  of  trans-continental  and  ocean  communica- 
tion. British  possessions  in  North  America.  Dominion  of  Canada. 
Newfoundland,  fisheries.  Saint  Peter  and  Micpielon  Islands.  United 
States. 

Mexico. 

Central  America.  The  five  republics  and  liritish  Honduras.  Ii^thnuis 
of  Panama.      The  Antilles. 

vSouth  America.  Venezuela.  Colombia  and  Ecuador.  Peru. 
Bolivia  and  Chili.  Argentine  Republic,  Paraguay,  Uruguay.  Brazil. 
The  Guianas. 

HISTORY  OF  coM.MKRCE.     SECOND  vK.VK    (twenty  les.son.s) . 

Interest  and  u.sefulne.ss  of  this  historw  Influence  of  commerce  on 
the   civilization  and  the  development  of  human   relations.     Sources  of 


116 

commercial  history.  Primitive  times.  The  Egyptians.  The  Phoenicians. 
The  Assyrians.  The  Persians.  India.  Greece.  Rome  and  Carthage. 
Gaul  and  Germany.  The  world's  commerce  at  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  Methods  of  exchange  in  ancient  times.  Shipping  of  the  ancients. 
Invasions.  Commerce  at  the  time  of  Charlemagne.  Fairs  and  markets. 
The  Arab  Invasion.  Africa  during  the  Middle  Ages.  Europe  from  the 
twelfth  to  fourteenth  ceutur>\  Influence  of  the  crusades  on  the  world's 
commerce.  Syria  and  Egypt.  The  Italian  cities  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Pisa.  Venice.  Genoa.  Florence.  Commerce  of  France  from  the 
eighth  to  fifteenth  century'.  Fairs  of  Champagne.  Flanders.  England 
and  Germany  in  the  thirteenth  century.  Hanseatic  League.  Method  of 
exchange  employed  by  commerce  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Bills  of  exchange. 
Banks.  Money  changes.  Commerce  of  the  Orient  after  the  fall  of  Con- 
stantinople. Maritime  voyages  toward  the  West.  Discovery  of  a  pass&ge 
to  Asia  by  way  of  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Discovery  of  America.  Conse- 
quences of  these  two  events  for  the  commercial  relations  of  the  world. 
The  Renaissance  in  Europe,  Flanders,  Italy,  France,  Spain,  Portugal, 
England  and  Germany.  Settlement  of  Europeans  in  India.  Phases  of 
the  Conquest.  Portugese  in  Asia.  Spanish  Conquests  in  the  New  World. 
Decadence  of  Spain.  Organization  of  the  Conquest.  Principal  companies. 
French  and  English  in  India.  Colonization  of  North  America  by  the 
English  and  the  French.  Slavery  in  the  countries  conquered  by  the 
Western  nations.  Results  of  the  maritime  discoveries.  The  grandeur 
of  Holland.  The  changing  of  commercial  routes.  The  birth  of  commer- 
cial legislation.  Colbert  and  the  protective  system.  The  colonial  system. 
The  sugar-producing  colonies.  Financial  system  of  Eaw.  The  loss  of 
India  and  of  Canada.  Independence  of  the  English  colonies  of  North 
America.  Commercial  results  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 
The  eighteenth  century  and  its  economic  reforms.  Quesnay,  Gournay 
and  Turgot.  Liberal  tendencies  in  commercial  affairs.  Treaty  of  1786. 
The  French  Revolution  and  its  consequences  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
development  of  industries  and  of  commerce.  Tariff  of  1 79 1 .  Commercial 
system  of  the  Empire.  The  Continental  l)lockade  and  its  results.  The 
protective  system  under  the  Restoration.  The  Corn  I^aws  and  the  laws 
relating  to  animals  and  metalhu'gy.  The  customs  policy  of  Prussia  since 
i8i6.  Organization  of  the  customs  union  (Zollverein) .  Its  economic 
results.  The  Netherlands,  Russia  and  Sweden.  The  reform  of  the  cus- 
toms in  Great  I>ritain.  Cobden,  Robert  Peel  and  the  league  against  the 
Corn  Laws.  Influence  of  the  customs  reform  on  the  commercial  politics 
of  Europe.  Revolution  of  1848  in  France.  War  of  the  parties  on  the 
ground  of  import  duties.  Commercial  tendency  of  the  second  limpire. 
The  system  of  commercial  treaties  inaugurated  in  i860.  Results  of  this 
economic  revolution.  Development  of  the  ways  of  communication. 
International  treaties.  Extension  of  conunercial  relations.  The  merchant 
marine.  vSucz  Canal.  Ivconomic  and  social  evolution  in  the  countries 
of  the  extreme  Orient.  Commerce  of  China,  of  Japan  and  of  India. 
Au.stralia.  Java.  Indo-China.  America  since  the  War  of  Independ- 
ence. Progress  of  its  industry,  its  agriculture  and  of  its  connnerce.  Its 
commercial  system.  Cause  of  the  War  of  Secession.  Ivconomic  results 
of  this  war.  The  actual  position  of  the  United  States  from  the  commer- 
cial point  of  view.  Canada.  Mexico.  Central  and  S(mth  America. 
The  commercial  present  and  the  growing  importance  of  the  traffic  of  this 


117 

country.  Panama.  Commerce  of  Europe  since  1870.  Scientific  and 
indu.strial  discoveries.  International  expositions.  Resources  of  the 
l^rincipal  countries.  Methods  employed  in  making  payments  among  the 
nations  in  adjusting  their  commercial  balances.  Development  of  credit, 
of  the  means  of  communication,  of  financial  societies.  Banks  of  i.ssue  and 
of  circulation.  International  values.  Clearing-houses.  The  exchanges. 
Statistics.  The  colonizing  tendencies  of  the  European  nations,  their 
causes.  Conditions  of  international  commerce.  Its  future.  Resume. 
th:^  Elements  of  French  purlic  and  civil  law.  first  year 
(twenty-five  lessons) . 
Organization  of  the  public  powers  ;  the  legislative  power ;  the 
executive  power ;  the  promulgation  of  laws.  The  judicial  power. 
Organization  of  the  different  judicial  bodies,  specially  the  commercial 
tribunals  and  the  councils  composed  of  employers  and  employes.  Com- 
mercial representation.  The  Superior  Council  of  Commerce  and  Industry. 
Chambers  of  conniierce.  The  project  of  creating  changes  of  navigation. 
Consulting  chambers  of  art  and  manufacture.  French  and  foreign 
chambers  of  connnerce.  Consuls.  Of  civil  rights.  On  nationality.  Of 
the  position  of  foreigners  in  France.  Of  the  documents  of  the  civil  state. 
Of  domicile.  Of  marriage.  Of  parents  and  of  children.  Of  the  parental 
power.  Of  minors,  of  guardianship  and  of  livery.  Of  disfranchisement 
and  of  legal  council.  Of  movable  and  immovable  property.  Of  property 
and  possession.  Of  usufruct  and  of  services.  Of  the  different  modes 
of  acquiring  property.  Of  succession.  Of  gifts  among  the  living  and 
of  wills  and  testaments.  Of  contracts  and  obligations.  Of  the  validity 
of  contracts.  Of  the  contract  of  marriage.  Of  the  renting  of  property. 
Of  depositing  property.  Of  security.  Of  transactions.  Of  franchises 
and  of  mortgages.     Of  prescriptions. 

commercial,  maritime  and  industrial  legislation,      first  year 

(thirty-five  lessons). 

CommerciaIv  IvAW. — The  general  ideas  of  commerce  and  of  com- 
mercial law.     The  sources  of  French  commercial  law.     Bibliography. 

Commercial  Documents. — Reasons  for  discrimination  (competence, 
validity,  etc.). 

Persons  Engaged  in  Commerce. — Competency  (minors,  married 
women).  Obligations  and  rights.  Commercial  books,  publicity  of  con- 
tract of  marriage,  licenses,  election  and  eligibility  to  the  chamber  of 
commerce,  and  tribunals.  Competence  of  the  commercial  tribunals. 
Methods  of  procedure.     Arbitration. 

Societies. — General  ideas.  Civil  and  commercial  societies.  Co- 
partnership societies  and  partnerships  of  limited  liabilities.  Joint  stock 
companies.  General  ideas  concerning  stocks  and  bonds,  non-transferable 
and  transferable  paper.  Joint  stock  partnerships.  Joint  .stock  companies. 
Premium  insurance  societies  and  mutual  insurance  societies.  Co-operative 
.societies.  Private  co-partnerships.  Civil  .societies  having  a  commercial 
form.     Foreign  societies  in  France. 

Ageyits  Employed  by  Persons  Engaged  in  Commerce. — Agents  acting 
under  powers  of  attorney.  Ofiicers  and  clerks.  Commissioners  and 
attorneys.     Brokers. 

Of  Commercial  Sales. — General  rules  for  closing  a  sale  and  its  per- 
fonnance.     Different  species.  " 


118 

Of  Security. — Civil  and  commercial  security.  Special  rules  relating' 
to  commercial  security.  General  storehouses  ;  warrants  ;  receipts.  Of 
transportation  contracts.  General  rules.  Of  railroad  transportation. 
Transportation  through  the  postal  system. 

Chambers  of  Commerce. — Operations  transacted  in  them.  Stock 
agents  and  brokers. 

SECOND  YKAR  (fifty  lessons). 

Of  CoMMERCiAi,  Paper. — Of  Bills  of  Exchange. — History.  Theor\- 
of  the  French  code.  Of  the  form  of  a  bill  of  exchange.  Of  indorse- 
ment, of  its  form  and  its  performance.  Of  the  provision.  Of  the  accept- 
ance.    Of  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  holder. 

Of  Checks. — Of  their  distinctive  character.     Clearing-house  of  Paris. 

Of  Bills  Payable  to  Order. — Domestic  bills.  The  payment  of  com- 
mercial paper  by  the  postal  administration  in  France,  Germany,  and  in 
Belgium. 

Bills  Payable  to  Bearer. 

Ba?ik  Ope?-atio}is. — Loans.  Discount.  Opening  of  credit.  Account 
current.  Of  the  Bank  of  France.  Of  colonial  banks.  Of  the  landed 
credit  (credit  foncier). 

Failures,  legal  settlements  and  bankruptcies. 

Maritime  Law. — General  ideas.     Sources  of  maritime  law. 

Of  Ships. — Ship-owners  and  owners  of  privateers.  The  rights  of  the 
different  creditors:  privilege;  mortgages;  the  right  of  succession. 
Abandoning  a  ship  and  freight. 

Freightiyig  or  Chartering. — Of  the  distinction  between  extraordinary 
and  ordinary  damages. 

Of  the  Bottomry  Loan. 

Of  the  Maritime  Mortgage. 

Maritime  Insurance. — General  ideas.  Particular  rules  regarding  the 
insurance  on  a  body  and  the  insurance  on  abilities. 

Appendix. — General  ideas  relating  to  fire  insurance,  life  insurance, 
and  insurance  against  accidents. 

Industriai,  Law. — Patents  on  Inventions. — Of  the  nature  of  the 
law  granting  the  profits  from  the  invention  to  its  inventor.  The  patent 
on  inventions,  its  character,  formalities,  publicity.  Of  the  patentability 
of  inventions.  Forfeitures.  Duration  and  tax  on  patents.  Of  improve- 
ments.    Of  the  importation  of  inventions,  patented  in  a  foreign  country. 

Of  the  Right  of  Foreigners. — Provisional  protection  during  public 
exposition.     Of  the  property  in  an  invention  and  a  patent. 

Of  the  Different  Lazvs  of  which  the  Patent  may  be  the  Object. — Of  the 
transfer  of  patents.  Of  the  concession  of  licenses.  Of  counterfeiting. 
Of  jurisdiction  in  ca.se  of  law  suits.  Action  in  nullity.  A  suit  in  ca.se 
of  forfeiture.  A  suit  relating  to  the  property  of  patents.  Suit  in  case  of 
counterfeiting.  Procedure,  Repression.  Of  the  .secrets  of  manufacture. 
Of  the  Models  and  Designs  of  Manufacture. — (General  ideas  on  prop- 
erty in  works  of  art. 

IVade  Marks  and  Labels. — The  cliaractcr  of  trade  marks.  Optional 
marks  and  obligatory  marks.  Property:  Transferrence.  Depositing. 
Counterfeits.      Repression. 

Of  a  Commercial  Name. — Of  tlic  names  of  locality  (products  sold  to 
foreigners). 


119 

Of  Disho7iesi  Competition. — The  rights  of  foreigners  in  matters  of 
industrial  property.  International  conventions  (the  union  of  1883,  etc. J. 
Dangerous  manufactories,  unhealthy  or  incommodious.  I^egal  systems. 
System  of  apparatus  and  steam-heating. 

FOREIGN  COMMERCIAL,  LEGISLATION. — SECOND  YEAR  (twenty  lesSOUS)  . 
The  necessity  for  harmonizing  certain  matters  of  commercial  law. 
Partial  results  accompli.shed  in  this  respect.  Diplomatic  conventions. 
Congresses  of  commercial  law.  The  .sketch  of  the  actual  commercial 
legislation  in  vogue  in  the  principal  countries.  The  codes  and  laws  to 
consult.  Bibliograph3^  General  ideas  relating  to  persons  engaged  in 
commerce.  Their  distinctive  marks  and  obligations  in  the  principal 
mercantile  nations.  The  organization  of  commercial  tribunals.  Of  the 
commercial  sale.  Of  commercial  societies.  The  system  of  companies  by- 
shares.  Special  .study  of  the  Engli.sh  legi.slation  on  this  subject.  The 
condition  of  the  law  and  of  the  fact  relating  to  societies  transacting  busi- 
ness outside  of  the  countries  in  which  they  originated.  Of  commercial 
paper,  notably  according  to  the  German  law  at  the  change  of  1848,  the 
Engli.sh  law  and  Scandinavian  legislation.  Special  laws  relating  to 
checks,  banks  of  deposit  and  clearing-houses.  Of  bankruptcy  under  the 
principal  foreign  laws,  specially  according  to  the  German  law  of  1877  ^"^^ 
of  the  Engli.sh  law  of  1883.  Of  the  bankruptcies  of  persons  not  engaged 
in  commerce.  Measures  to  prevent  bankruptcy  in  Belgium,  Italy,  Spain, 
etc.  Of  transportation  by  railroad.  Legislation  relating  thereto  in  the 
great  mercantile  countries,  and  especially  in  Germany.  The  projects  for 
diplomatic  conventions  on  this  .subject.  Organization  of  industrial 
property  in  foreign  countries.  The  international  similarity  respecting 
this  subject.  Nationality  and  transfer  of  ships.  Freight  contracts. 
Freight  and  consignment.  Of  marine  mortgage.  Of  damages  and  their 
regulation.  Marine  insurance.  vSpecial  examination  of  the  rules  of  York 
and  of  Antwerp.  Organization  of  commercial  tribunals.  Judicial  powers 
of  consuls.  Their  mission  in  regard  to  persons  engaged  in  commerce, 
and  especially  those  engaged  in  the  merchant  marine. 

POLITICAL   ECONOMY. — FIRST   YEAR    (thirty  le.SSOUs)  . 

Matters  relating  to  taxes,  to  customs,  to  labor  questions  and  to  trans- 
portation have  been  respectively  comprised  in  the  programs  of  the 
legi.slation  relating  to  customs  and  the  budget,  of  legislation  relating  to 
laborers  and  transportation. 

Prclitnitiary  lOio'wlcdoc, — Cursory  review  of  economic  phenomena. 
The  science  and  art  of  political  economy.  The  method,  importance  of 
observation,  of  historical  criticisms,  of  experience,  of  statistics  and  its  most 
important  numerical  and  graphical  processes. 

Production. — The  three  factors  in  production  : 

1.  Natural  agents.     The  land  and  the  law  of  diminishing  returns. 

2.  Labor.  Division  of  labor.  Freedoni  of  labor.  Slavery.  Serf- 
dom.    Corporations.     Regulations. 

3.  Capital.  Its  formation,  its  role,  its  different  forms.  Machines, 
their  effects. 

Classiftcatioii  of  Industries. — Large  and  small  industries  : 
I.  Agricultural  indu.str}- ;  extensive  and  intensive  cultivation  ;  culti- 
vation on  a  large  and  small  .scale  ;  cultivation  of  one's  own  State  ;  renting. 
Metayers. 


120 

2.  Extractive  industries. 

3.  Manufacturing  industries. 

4.  Commercial  industries. 

5.  Carr\'ing  industries. 

Circulation. — Exchange  and  value.  Current  value  and  normal  value. 
Competition  and  monopoly.  The  mechanism  of  exchange.  Money. 
Two  conditions  which  it  must  fulfill.  Qualities  which  are  necessary  to 
good  money.  The  principal  moneys  :  gold,  silver,  copper  coin.  The 
principal  facts  regarding  the  history  and  price  of  the  precious  metals. 
Monetar\-  systems.  Legal  rate  of  exchange.  Gresham's  law.  Paper 
money.  Depreciation  of  silver,  its  causes,  its  effects.  The  American 
Silver  Bill.  The  Latin  Union.  Monometallism  and  bimetallism. 
Present  state  of  the  question  in  the  world.  The  effects  of  the  depreciation 
of  money  on  international  commerce. 

Credit. — Its  usefulness.  Advantages  and  guarantees  offered  by  the 
borrower  to  the  lender.  Commercial  credit.  Fiduciar\'  circulation.  The 
exchanges  of  public  and  other  paper.  The  exchange.  Banks  :  function 
of  bankers,  discount,  deposits,  current  accounts,  checks,  clearances.  The 
clearing-house  ;  banks  of  issue,  their  relation  to  the  State,  their  systems 
in  the  principal  countries.  Mortgage  credit.  Landed  credit.  Marine 
mortgage.  Credit  on  security-.  Loans  on  deeds,  warrants.  On  articles 
put  in  pawn.     Agricultural  credit.     Popular  banks.     Different  systems. 

Cojnmcrce. — Domestic  and  foreign  commerce.  Position  of  the  middle- 
man. Wholesale  and  retail  commerce.  Speculation.  Monopoly.  Law 
of  exportation.     Crises.     Theor\'  of  crises. 

Distrilnition. — Individual  property.  How  it  is  established.  Its 
economic  advantages.  Its  legitimacy.  Transference:  gifts,  sales,  inherit- 
ance.    Common  patrimony. 

Freedom  of  Contract. — Rent.  Interest.  Basis  of  interest,  its  causes 
and  effects.  Regulation  of  interest.  Salaries.  Basis  of  salaries.  Pro- 
ductivity of  labor.  Different  forms  of  salaries,  bounties,  participation  in 
the  profits.     Profits  of  the  entrepreneur. 

Cofisumption. — Productive  and  unproductive  consumption.  Economy 
and  prodigality.     Luxury.     Absenteeism.     Public  consumption. 

Population. — Malthus  and  his  doctrine.  Pauperism  :  Causes  and 
remedies.     Saving.     Insurance.     Assistance. 

The  State. — Its  position  in  the  economic  order  of  things.  Its  interfer- 
ence.    National  and  international  regulations.     Socialism. 

l..\BOR    LEGISLATION. — .c^ECOND  YEAR  (ten  le.S.S0ns). 

The  Co7itract  in  Hiring  oitt  One's  Services. — Professional  syndicates. 
Societies  co-operating  for  production,  for  consumption,  for  con.struction 
and  for  credit.  Combinations.  Conciliation  and  arbitration.  Privileges 
relating  to  salaries.  Not  distraintable.  Methods  and  times  for  the  pay- 
ment of  salaries.  Apprenticeship.  Regulation  of  the  work  of  children, 
of  women  and  of  adults.  Accidents  in  factories,  responsibility  ;  profes- 
sional risks  ;  industrial  societies  for  the  prevention  of  accidents.  Laws  or 
legislative  questions  concerning  the  institutions  for  encouraging  saving, 
and  providing  against  future  need  (institutions  for  pensioning  the  aged, 
insurance  and  mutual  aid  societies,  etc).  Principles  of  legislation  com- 
pared. 


121 

l^ItGISI.ATIOX    RKLATING    TO   THE    IJUDGET   AND    CUSTOMS.       SECOND 

YEAR  (twenty-five  lessons). 

Legislation  Relating  to  the  Budget. — The  budget  of  the  State.  Origin 
and  history  of  public  finance.  Preparation,  voting  and  execution  of  the 
budget.  Extraordinary  and  supplementary  credits.  Public  expenses. 
Ministerial  credits,  financial  administration  and  public  accounts.  Public 
debt.  Amortization.  Conversion.  Progression  of  the  budget.  Resources 
of  the  budget.  Public  revenues.  Public  domain  and  the  private  domain 
of  the  State.  Railways.  Taxes.  General  ideas  of  the  tax.  Its  nature. 
Its  characteristic  and  economic  result.  Its  influence  on  industry  and 
commerce.     The  single  and  the  multiple  tax. 

The  proportional  and  the  progressive  tax.  Tax  on  capital.  Tax  on 
revenue.  The  direct  tax.  The  indirect  tax.  Cost  of  collection.  The 
indirect  taxes.  I^and  tax,  contribution  from  persons  and  personal  prop- 
erty, the  door  and  window  tax.  Licenses.  Tax  on  the  revenue  derived 
from  personal  property.  Tax  on  luxuries.  The  indirect  taxes  :  Tax  of 
registration  and  the  stamp  tax,  the  customs  duties,  statistics,  etc.  Taxes 
on  consumption.  Products  of  the  post-ofhce,  and  the  duties  on  transporta- 
tion. General  organization  of  the  postal  and  telegraph  service.  lyocal 
taxes.  Budgets  of  the  departments  and  of  the  communes.  The  octrois. 
The  reduction  of  taxes.  Financial  organization  and  the  fiscal  legislation 
of  the  principal  foreign  countries  :  England,  Germany,  Austro-Hungar>', 
Italy,  Rus.sia,  Turkey,  United  States,  etc. 

Customs  Legislation. — The  successive  changes  in  customs  legislation 
which  have  been  made  up  to  the  present  time.  The  actual  systems. 
French  tariffs.  Tariffs  of  the  principal  foreign  countries.  The  treaties 
of  commerce  in  vogue  at  the  present  time.  The  administration  of  custom 
houses.  Double  character  of  the  duties  collected  by  them.  Fiscal  duties. 
Protective  duties.  Theory  of  duties  on  the  basis  of  "payment  for 
services  rendered."  General  and  conventional  tariffs.  Respective 
advantages  of  these  two  forms  of  cu.stoms  legi-slation.  "The  most 
favored  nation  "  clause.  Methods  of  taxation.  Specific  duties.  Duties 
ad  valorem.  Drawbacks.  Temporary  admissions.  Bounties  on  exporta- 
tion. Division  of  the  customs  duties.  Duties  on  importation.  Duties 
on  exportation.  Duties  on  transit.  Accessor}'  duties  collected  by  the 
administration  of  the  custom  houses.  Its  co-operation  in  recovering 
certain  interior  taxes.  Police  measures  and  measures  taken  to  prevent 
fraud.  Active  administration  of  custom  houses.  Extent  of  land  and  sea 
frontiers.  Indication  of  the  procedure  of  the  methods  for  recourse  in 
case  of  disputes  in  regard  to  customs.  Rights  of  pre-emption,  etc.  Com- 
mercial statistics.  General  commerce.  Special  commerce.  Customs 
valuations.  Official  values.  Actual  values.  Influence  of  price.  Raw 
aiaterial.  Maiuifactured  products.  Special  systems.  Systems  in  the 
colonies.  Customs  legislation  relating  to  the  principal  industries.  The 
grain  trade.  Extractive  and  manufacturing  industries.  Sugars.  Tax 
on  salt.  Marine  fisheries,  etc.  iMerchant  marine.  Differential  duties. 
Surtaxes  on  the  flags.  Surtaxes  on  the  warehouse.  Bounties  on  naviga- 
tion and  equipment.  Subsidies  for  construction.  Commercial  politics 
and  the  customs  tariffs  of  the  principal  countries. 

,«5TITDY   OF   TRANSPORTATION.      SECOND   '^'EAR    (sixteen   lesSOns) . 
Establishment,    Maintenanee  and  Administration  of  Routes  of  Com- 
vtunicdtion. — Of  the  legal  .status  of  ways  of  communication.      Domanial 


122 

rights.  Establishment  of  ways  of  communication  by  the  State,  the 
department  or  the  communes.  Franchises.  Actual  development  of  roads, 
canals  and  navigable  routes  and  seaports.  The  expenses  of  establishment 
and  maintenance.  History^  of  the  systems  of  French  railroads.  Finan- 
cial relation  of  the  companies  to  the  State.  Railroads  belonging  to  the 
State.  Railroads  of  purely  local  interest.  Actual  condition  of  the 
French  systems.  Control  of  the  State  over  the  railroads  which  have  been 
ceded.  Legal  character  of  the  tariffs,  and  the  conditions  on  which  they 
are  established. 

Ecojiomic  Study  of  TransportaHo?i. — Of  the  value  of  transportation 
and  its  net  cost.  Influence  of  tolls  on  the  development  of  traffic,  and  on 
the  utility  of  the  routes  of  communication.  "  Baremes  "  and  fixed  price. 
Their  advantages  and  their  disadvantages.  Price  of  transportation  by 
railroad  or  by  water.  Their  variations.  Actual  importance  of  the 
traffic.  Net  cost  of  transportation  by  railroads.  Elements  of  variation 
in  the  net  co.st.  Fixed  price  and  "baremes."  Representation  of  the 
tariffs  by  cun^es.  Of  competition  in  matters  of  transportation,  especially 
the  competition  between  railroads  and  waterways.  Tariffs  called  ' '  Tariffs 
of  penetration." 

A  Special  Study  of  Railroad  Tariffs. — General  principles  of  railroad 
tariffs.  Uses  of  "  Recueil  Chaix."  "Baremes"  and  their  graphic 
representation.  Application  of  distance.  Clauses  relating  to  inter- 
mediate stations,  not  mentioned,  and  connected.  Passenger  rates. 
Classes,  round-trip  tickets,  excursion  tickets,  and  compartments  of 
luxury.  General  tariffs  of  fast  and  slow  freight.  Methods  of  applica- 
tion and  conditions  of  delay.  Classification.  Exceptional  tariff.  Acces- 
sory expenses.  Special  tariffs.  Methods  of  applying  these  tariffs. 
Portage  and  cartage.  The  relation  of  railroad  enterprises  to  other 
methods  of  transportation. 

COMMERCIAL    INSTRUMENTS.        SECOND    YEAR    (twenty    lesSOtls). 

The  Elements  of  Mechanics. — Velocity  and  acceleration.  Force. 
Quantity.  Work  and  living  force.  Mechanical  units.  The  mechanical 
equivalent  of  heat.  Energy :  its  transformations  and  con.servations. 
Sources  of  energy.  Study  of  the  principal  motors.  Animal  motors. 
Motors  propelled  by  wind.  Hydraulic  wheels.  Turbines.  Detailed 
study  of  the  steam  engine  and  its  latest  improvements  :  steam  generators ; 
administrative  regulation  and  surv'eillance.  Gas  and  petroleum  motors. 
Various  motors.  Instruments  of  transmission  and  transformation  of 
motion.     Dynamometers  and  various  indicators. 

Tch\Q;raphy. — The  principle  of  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph.  Over- 
head and  subterranean  lines.  Detailed  study  of  the  Mor.se  sy.stem. 
Discu.ssion  of  a  po.stal  telegraph,  lightning-rods,  compass,  clocks.  Dial 
apparatus.  Compari.son  of  the  two  .sy.stems.  The  apparatus  for  increas- 
ing the  rapidity.  Monopoly  and  irresponsibility  of  the  State  on  the 
subject  of  telegraphs.  Constitution  of  the  P'rench  .system  ;  bureaus 
called  "Municipal;"  sema])hores  ;  pneumatic  sy.stem  of  Paris.  Rates. 
International  communications  ;  land  and  .sulimarine  lines.  International 
union  telegraph.  Ciplier  telegrams:  cryptography.  Lines  run  in  the 
interest  of  ])rivale  persons. 

The  Trlrplione. — Description  and  u.se  of  Bell's  telephone.  Micro- 
phone :  de.'^cri])tion  and  use  of  a  micro-telephonic  .system.      Di.scu.SvSion  of 


123 

postal  telephones.  Effects  of  induction  between  the  telegraph  wires  and 
the  neighboring  telephone  wires  :  methods  of  preventing  it.  Comparison 
of  the  respective  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  telegraph  and 
telephone.  State  monopoly  :  its  limitations.  Organization  of  the  interior 
telephone  connnunications  of  a  close  property  between  the  different  ])arts 
of  an  industrial  or  commercial  establishment.  Telephone  lines  used  for 
private  interest.  Urban  systems  and  groups  of  Urban  systems.  Tele- 
phonic communications  at  long  distances. 

Electric  Lio-Jituv^. — The  ideas  relating  to  Olim's  law  and  the  electric 
unities  :  ohm,  volt,  ampere.  Voltmeters  and  amperemeters.  Brief  theory 
of  Graham's  machine.  Magnetic  and  dynamo-electric  machines,  witli 
continued  current  and  alternating  currents.  Accumulators.  Electric 
arc  lamps.  Regulators.  Jablochkoff's  candle.  Incandescent  electric 
lamps.  Choice  to  make  between  the  arc  lamps  and  the  incandescent 
lamps  according  to  circumstances. 

Distribution  of  Electric  Lij^ht  by  direct  current  or  by  transformed 
currents.  Lighting  of  passenger  stations,  of  market  halls,  and  of  large 
industrial,  commercial  or  financial  establishments.  Domestic  lighting  ; 
study  of  a  certain  number  of  cases  of  actual  lighting.  Various  advantages 
resulting  from  the  employment  of  the  electric  light.  Price  of  electric 
lighting  compared  with  that  of  gas.  Future  of  electric  lighting,  its  war 
with  gas. 

Transportation  by  Electric  Force. — The  most  satisfactory  systems. 
Trials  and  applications.  Electric  traction.  Administrative  regulations 
and  surveillance  of  electric  lines  and  factories. 

Lifting  Apparatus. — The  different  types  of  hand  cranes.  Timber 
and  metallic  cranes,  fixed  or  variable.  Steam  cranes  with  or  without 
gearing.  Christian  cranes.  Revolving  steam  cranes.  The  organization 
of  transporting  in  the  factory  park  of  Creusot.  Cranes  run  by  water 
under  pressure;  the  Armstrong  system.  Revolving  steam  derricks  employed 
in  unloading  railroad  cars  or  river  boats.     Inclined  planes  with  trucks. 

Railroads. — Comparison  between  the  traction  of  a  vehicle  on  an 
ordinary  road  and  on  an  iron  track  :  necessity  for  modifjang  the  grades 
and  curves.  The  numerous  conditions  which  must  be  fulfilled  in  order 
to  lay  out  a  great  railroad  line.  A  normal  track  and  a  double  track. 
Ties  ;  iron  rails  and  steel  rails,  etc.  Transferring  from  one  track  to 
another :  switches,  crossings,  etc.  Railroad  ties.  Turning  tables. 
Rolling  stock  for  transporting  merchandise.  The  construction  of  a  train 
of  cars.  Couplings.  Different  types  of  cars.  Box  cars,  truck  cars  and 
platform  cars.  The  limitation  of  charges.  Transportation  of  large  pieces 
of  wood.  Special  cars.  Freight  stations.  Small  stations.  Principal 
stations.  Quays  and  market  halls.  Stations  for  transshipment  of  goods. 
Special  cranes  employed  in  these  stations.  Large  stations  at  junctions. 
Sorting  cars  in  order  to  return  them.  Sorting  and  classifying  according 
to  weight  (the  inclined  plane  of  Edge  Hill).  Terminal  stations:  their 
location  (station  at  Batignolles,  of  Bercy,  etc.).  Detailed  description  of 
the  station  "la  Chapelle."  Switching  cars.  Moving  by  hand  and  witli 
horses.  Switcli  engines.  Hydraulic  windlasses.  Charcoal  stations. 
Stations  for  iron  and  stone.  Particular  brandies.  Conditions  of  estab- 
lishment and  exploitation.  iVdministrative  formalities.  Narrow  gauge 
railroad.  Facilities  and  economy  of  building  the  road  and  of  material. 
Example.      Stations  at  the  junctions  with  the  principal   systems.     Their 


124 

machines  for  transferring  merchandise.  Small  'railroads  for  the  special 
use  of  manufactories,  of  large  commercial  houses  and  warehouses  in 
general.     Tramways.     Portable  railroads. 

Itila72d  iYavigatio?i. — Material  for  transportation  on  rivers  and  canals. 
Forms  and  dimensions  of  boats.  Different  methods  of  locomotion  :  towing 
by  hand,  with  horses,  and  attempts  at  towing  by  steam.  Navigation  with 
sails  and  drifting.  Steam  navigation.  Wheel  steamers.  Screw  steamers. 
Towers,  Rafting  loose  logs,  and  logs  fastened  together.  The 
canalization  of  rivers  ;  dams  ;  locks  ;  lateral  canals.  Summit  level  ponds. 
Method  of  feeding.  Inclined  plane  of  the  Morris  canal ;  inclined  plane 
of  Black  Hill.  Great  Western  elevator;  Anderton's  elevator;  elevator 
of  Fontinettes.     Landing  places  for  inland  navigation. 

Seaports. — War  between  the  marine  cities  ;  the  progress  realized 
every  day  in  the  management  and  in  the  use  of  machinery  at  seaports. 
The  different  operations  involved  in  handling  merchandise  from  the  time 
it  leaves  the  hold  of  the  vessel  until  it  is  placed  in  cars  or  in  storehouses, 
and  vice  versa.  The  harmony  necessary  to- establish  between  land  and 
naval  institutions.  Ocean  seaports.  The  tide  port.  Wet  docks.  Docks 
for  half  tide.  Docks  for  full  tide.  Deep-water  docks.  Seaports  without 
docks.  Works  on  the  sea  coast,  jetties,  outer  dikes.  Description  of  a 
typical  port  according  to  M.  Barret.  Jetties  affected  by  steamers  trans- 
porting dispatches,  passengers  and  prize  merchandise.  Sheds  and  store- 
houses. Iron  tracks.  Jetties  affected  exclusively  b}''  steamers  carrying 
merchandise.  Jetties  for  exportation  or  importation  of  heavy  and  cumber- 
some merchandise.  Wooden  bottoms.  Pilots  :  New  York.  Quays  and 
the  shores  of  docks  :  their  management.  Maritime  stations.  Quays  and 
exterior  embankments.  Transferring  from  one  vessel  to  another.  The 
apparatus  used  for  lifting  at  wharv^es  :  movable  hydraulic  cranes.  Floating 
steam  cranes.  Derricks  worked  by  hand,  by  steam  and  by  hydraulic 
pressure.  The  utilization  of  hydraulic  pressure  for  manipulating,  turning 
bridges,  windlasses,  etc.  Unloading  of  grain.  Pneumatic  apparatus. 
Floating  elevators.  Establishments  for  repairing  :  docks  for  careening, 
dockyards,  windlasses,  floating  docks.  Docks  of  transfer.  Dry  docks. 
The  docks  of  London  and  of  lyiverpool.  Docks  for  the  exportation  of  coal : 
Northumberland  and  Tyne  dock.  Detailed  description  of  the  seaports  at 
Trieste,  Marseilles,  Havre  and  Antwerp. 

Warehouses  and  General  Storehouses. — Buildings  having  several 
stories  and  buildings  of  but  one  story  ;  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
each  kind.  Construction  and  management.  lilevator  apparatus  ;  charges 
for  hydraulic  elevating  or  lowering  goods.  I'uildings  destined  to  receive 
special  merchandise.  Spirits,  wines,  vegetable  oils,  petroleum,  storing 
grain.     Pits  and  various  granaries. 

pivNMANSiiiP.      (Two  Years). 
FIRST  YEAR  (twenty  Icssons) .  .second  year  (fifteen  lessons). 

Review  of  the  general  principles  relating  to  the  different  species  of 
liandwriting.  Theoretical  and  practical  exerci.ses.  The  customary 
practice  in  writing  and  in  the  gra]:)hic  execution  of  correspondence  and  of 
commercial  accounts  ;  business  letters,  commercial  bills,  invoices.  Trans- 
ferring entries  from  the  journal  to  the  ledger ;  inventories ;  balance 
sheets  ;  discount  memoranda,  etc.  Admiiiistrative  documents,  synoptical 
tables,  memoranda,  etc.     Foreign  commercial  correspondence. 


125 

NOTES  ON  THE  COMMERCIAL  vSCHOOLvS  OF  FRANCE. 

Groups. — The  French  schools  of  commerce  may  be  divided  into  two 
groups.  The  first  group  comprises  seven  higher  schools,  of  which  two 
are  at  Paris  and  five  in  the  provinces.  The  second  group  comprises  four 
primary  and  intermediate  schools,  of  which  three  are  at  Paris  and  one  in 
the  provinces  ;  a  total  of  eleven  schools  of  commerce. 

Constitution  of  the  Schools. — The  Superior  School  of  Commerce 
at  Paris ;  the  Commercial  School  of  the  Aveime  Trudaine,  and  the 
School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies  are  all  governed  by  the  Paris  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  which  purchased  the  first  in  1S69,  and  founded  the 
other  two  in  1862  and  188 1. 

The  schools  at  Lyons,  Marseilles,  ILivre  and  the  Conmiercial  Institute 
of  Paris,  are  controlled  by  private  corporations.  The  school  at  Rouen 
was  also  created  by  a  corporation  ;  its  capital  having  been  exhausted  in 
1882  an  arrangement  was  made  which  incorporated  the  school  into  the 
School  of  Sciences  and  Letters  of  Rouen  (Academy  of  Caen),  in  whose 
hands  it  now  languishes.  The  method  of  subsidies  was  adopted  in  the 
case  of  the  School  of  Bordeaux,  which  was  organized  in  1874.  This 
combination  permitted  a  reduction  of  the  cost  of  tuition  to  200  francs, 
while  giving  to  the  school  a  good  location  and  an  excellent  equipment. 
The  School  of  Reims,  supported  by  the  same  method  of  subsidy  as  the 
School  of  Bordeaux,  became  a  public  establishment  in  1S82  under  the 
immediate  control  of  the  Ministry  of  Public  Iu.struction,  like  the  Manual 
School.  The  Practical  School  of  Commerce  and  Accounting  has  remained 
private  property- . 

If  one  compares  the  value  of  these  dilferent  methods  of  support,  one 
must  recognize  that  they  are  all  equally  precarious.  The  School  of  Rouen 
has  foundered  for  lack  of  capital ;  the  school  at  Havre  manages  tp  exist 
with  great  difficulty  ;  that  at  Lyons,  founded  by  a  private  corporatio'.i 
which  seemed  to  offer  more  permanence,  has  about  arrived  at  the  end  of 
its  resources.  If  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  had  been  obliged  to 
carr}--  for  the  School  of  the  Avenue  Trudaine  and  that  of  the  rue  Amelot 
the  same  deficits  as  for  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies,  it  is 
evident  it  would  have  been  obliged  to  have  closed  these  establishments. 
As  to  the  School  of  Bordeaux,  it  could  not  sur\'ive  a  disagreement  between 
the  three  bodies  which  subsidized  it.  The  school  at  Reims  alone  sees  its 
position  assured  by  the  aid  of  the  State,  but  it  has  lost  all  liberty.  So 
far  as  an  educational  point  of  view  is  concerned,  those  schools  governed 
by  private  corporations  offer  more  freedom  in  instruction.  Nevertheless, 
it  does  not  assure  as  careful  supervision  as  the  method  of  subsidies,  for 
shareholders  are  usually  little  interested  in  operations  which  do  not  give 
profits.  Finally,  excellent  results  have  been  obtained  under  all  methods, 
so  far  as  the  in.struction  is  concerned,  but  from  the  administrative  and 
financial  point  of  view  the  direct  control  by  the  State  would  be  preferable 
to  the  corporation,  which  is  less  watchful  and  less  attentive,  and  the  form 
of  corporate  management  is,  moreover,  rarely  favorable  to  enteri'>ri.sc. 

Councils. — The  different  schools  are  administered  by  councils, 
composed  ordinarily  of  the  prominent  merchants  of  the  vicinity.  The 
councils  of  the  three  schools,  supported  by  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
are  Vecruited  from  the  members  of  that  body.  Besides  looking  after 
the   financial  administration   these    committees    are    al.so    charged  with 


126 

supervising  the  course  of  study.  The  council  of  the  school  at  Lyons  is 
composed  of  thirteen  members,  of  whom  four  are  chosen  from  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  and  nine  from  the  shareholders.  The  council  of  the  school 
at  Marseilles  is  composed  of  twelve  members,  of  whom  ten  are  shareholders 
and  two  are  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Connnerce,  and  is  assisted  by 
an  educational  committee  founded  by  it,  and  whose  members  can  be  taken 
from  outside  the  body  of  shareholders  ;  a  provision  very  wise  and  favor- 
able to  good  instruction,  for  it  permits  the  introduction  of  specialists  into 
the  council.  The  school  at  Havre  is  administered  by  a  council  of  twelve 
members  composed  of  shareholders  elected  in  general  assembly.  Besides 
looking  after  the  financial  administration,  it  organizes  the  instruction  of 
the  school  and  super\ases  it.  At  Bordeaux  the  administration  of  the 
school  is  confided  to  the  Philomathic  Society,  under  the  control  of  a 
committee  of  supervision,  composed  of  five  members  of  the  Municipal 
Council,  five  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  a  representative 
of  the  council  general  of  the  Gironde,  also  five  members  of  the  Philomathic 
vSociety.  The  Commercial  Institute  of  the  Chaussee  d'Antin  is  adminis- 
tered by  a  council  of  supervision,  taken  from  the  founders  and  shareholders 
of  the  institute.  Finally,  the  Professional  School  at  Reims  has  a  com- 
mittee of  patronage  and  supervision,  composed  of  fourteen  members.  The 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Paris,  besides  its  administrative  delega- 
tion, has  an  educational  council  composed  of  twenty-five  notabilities  and 
presided  over  by  the  Ministn,-  of  Commerce. 

ScHOivARSHiPS. — In  addition  to  the  information  which  is  found  in  the 
table  published  above,  we  add  some  remarks  upon  the  pecuniar}^  aid 
which  the  State  has  given  to  commercial  instruction.  A  ministerial 
order,  dated  Februar}'  i,  1849,-'^  created  at  the  Superior  School  of  Com- 
merce at  Paris,  directed  at  that  time  by  M.  Blanqui,  sixteen  half  scholar- 
ships of  500  francs  each.  By  an  order  of  the  twenty-third  of  April,  1853, 
these  sixteen  half  scholarships  were  transformed  into  twelve  entire  scholar- 
ships of  1200  francs  each.  The  total  expense  of  14,400  francs  was  taken 
from  the  grant  for  the  encouragement  of  industry  and  commerce. 

A  special  grant  for  the  maintenance  of  scholarships  in  the  schools  of 
commerce  was  first  inserted  into  the  budget  for  the  year  1875.  This 
grant  amounted  to  30,000  francs  ;  it  was  raised  to  40,000  francs  by  the 
law  of  1883.     The.se  scholarships  are  distributed  as  follows  : 

Date  of  Creation.  Name  of  School. 

.\pril  23,  1853  Superior  School  of  Commerce  of  Paris 

Oct.  14,  1874  Commercial  School  of  Pari.s 
T,aw  of  Finances  of  1SS3     School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies 
l""eb.  22,  1875  ] 

Jan.  5,  1882     >  Superior  School  of  Commerce  of  Marseilles  8  a 
Dec.  15,  1884  ) 

I'-eb.  22,  1875  Superior  School  of  Commerce  of  Lyons 

Oct.  14,  1874  Superior  vSchool  of  Commerce  of  Rotien 

I-'eb.  22,  1875  Superior  School  of  Commerce  of  Havre 

I'\'l).  22,  1875  Su])enorSchoolof  Commerce  of  Bordeaux 

Total,  39.800 

vSuHvSiDiKS. — The  su])sidics  given  to  the  establishments  of  commercial 
instruction  were  made  from  the  grant  for  the  encouragement  of  technical 
instruction,  which  figured  regularly  in  the  budgets  .since  the  year   1868. 

*  Somr  half  scliolar.sliips  had  been  cstabli.'^hecl  ten  years  earlier. 


Scholarship-^. 

Value. 

12  a 
10  a 
10  k 

1200^ 

240  = 

1000  = 

14,400 

2,400 

10,000 

es8  a 

600  = 

4,800 

4  a 
10  a 
3  a 

|88 

2,400 
3,000 
1,800 

«  5  a 

200:= 

I, COO 

127 

A  special  grant  of  24,350  francs  for  subsidies  to  the  establishments  of 
commercial  instruction  was  inscribed  for  the  first  time  in  the  budget  for 

the  year  1884.     For  the  year  1886  this  grant  was  raised  to  42,000  francs. 
These  grants  were  distributed  as  follows  for  the  year  1884-85  : 

1S84.  1885. 

Superior  School  of  Commerce  of  Lyons Fr.     5,000  5,000 

.Superior  School  of  Commerce  of  Rouen 2,000  2,000 

Superior  School  of  Connnerce  of  Havre 5,000  5,000 

Commercial  School  of  Paris 200  200 

Commercial  Institute  of  Paris 1,500  1,000 

.Superior  School  of  Commerce  of  Paris 50  50 

I'liilomathic  Society  of  Bordeaux 2,000  2,000 

Industrial  Society  of  Saint-Quenlin   and  of  I'Aisne 3,000  3,000 

Society  for  the  Technical  Instruction  of  Women 500  500 

Society  of  the  Rouen  for  the  Technical  Instruction  of  Women  .    .            1,000  1,000 

Superior  Higher  Course  of  Commercial  Accounting  for  Women  .             1,000  1,000 
Society  for  the  Technical  Instruction  of  Women  (foundation  K. 

Lemonnier) i,ooo  1,000 

Course  of  Accounting  of  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce  .    .    .    .             1,100  1,100 

The  Academic  Society  of  Accounting  and  other  societies  .    .    .    .            1,000  1,000 

Traveling  Scholarships. — The  budget  for  the  year  1885,  under 
the  head  of  the  Ministry  of  Commerce,  contained  a  special  grant  of  9,000 
francs  for  the  establishment  of  traveling  scholarships,  in  favor  of  the 
•-,aaduates  of  the  higher  schools  of  commerce.  This  grant  was  raised  to 
!S,ooo  francs  by  the  budget  of  1886  ;  the  grant  a.sked  for  at  that  time  was 
50,000  francs.  The  creation  of  traveling  scholarships  answers  the 
necessity  of  extending  our  field  of  commercial  activity  abroad,  as  well  as 
a  just  requirement  from  the  standpoint  of  instruction.  One  must  not 
forget  the  fact  that  in  other  careens — in  the  fine  arts,  in  university  studies 
— traveling  scholarships  have  been  established  at  great  expense,  and  that 
schools  have  been  organized  in  order  to  enable  the  graduates  to  ripen  their 
talent  by  the  study  of  the  works  of  the  great  masters. 

In    Belgium    the   government   created,    in    1862,    several    traveling 
scholarships  for  the  licentiates  in  commercial  sciences  graduating  from 
ihe  Superior  vSchool  of  Commerce  in  Antwerp.      Public  opinion  in  France 
has  been  favorably  inclined  to  the  idea  of  taking  a  similar  step  in  favor 
of  the  graduates  of  our  .schools  of  commerce.      M.   Jacquemart,   in  an 
excellent  report,  has  made  himself  the  eloquent  interpreter  of  this  senti- 
ment, and  he  has  been  fortunate  enough  to  gain  his  cause.     Everything 
noints  to  the  fact  that  future  budgets  will  increase  each  year  the  grant 
ir  these  scholarships.     The  grant  in  Belgium  amounts  to  45,000  francs. 
"  When  the  French  State  shall  decide  to  follow  the  example  of 
Belgium,  we  said  some  time  ago,   it  must  not  hesitate  to  increase 
the  ntunber  of  .scholarships.     One  means  of  creating  a  large  number 
of  them  withottt  increasing  tlie  co.st  to  the  contributors  would  be  to 
transform   them   into    temporary   loans   made  1)y   the   treasury,    and 
reimbursable  under  given  conditions." 

We  have  on  several  occasions  mentioned  this  .system,  which  could 
hIso  be  adopted  by  commercial  .societies  or  syndicates  or  insurance  com- 
>anies.     This  system  of  loans  would  substitute  for  a  beneficiarj'  a  debtor, 
vvho  has  taken  upon  himself  certain  formal  obligations. 

"The  beginning  of  a  commercial  career,  let  us  add,  ought  not 
to  be  a  gift  from  a  society  ;  a  capital  received  and  which  is  not  to  be 
repaid  ;  a  debt  which  is  not  to  be  liquidated.      The  State  should 


128 

limit  itself  to  making  a  loan,  and  the  traveler  who  benefits  by  the 

advance  should  repay  it  when  he  shall  have  succeeded  in  making  it 

bear   fruit.      This   capital   would   then  assist   other   travelers,    who 

would  employ  it  fruitfully  in  their  turn." 

However  it  may  be  with  these  reflections,  we  congratulate  M.  Jacque- 
mart  on  this  happy  initiative  and  the  result  accomplished.  The  necessary- 
thing  was  to  do  something.  Below  is  appended  the  set  of  regulations 
relating  to  traveling  scholarships,  founded  by  the  Ministry  of  Commerce  : 

First  Article. — A  certain  luimber  of  traveling  scholarships  will  be 
annually  opened  to  competition  by  the  Ministry  of  Commerce.  These 
scholarships,  of  an  annual  value  of  3000  francs,  are  granted  for  three 
years. 

Second  Article. — ^To  be  admitted  to  the  competition,  candidates  must 
produce  a  certificate  of  good  conduct  and  moral  character,  and  evidence 
showing  :  first,  that  they  are  French  citizens  either  native  or  naturalized  ; 
second,  that  they  are  at  least  twenty  years  of  age  and  not  more  than 
twent5^-five  at  the  time  of  the  competition  ;  third,  that  they  are  furnished 
with  a  diploma  of  one  of  the  schools  of  commerce  designated  below  : 
School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies  ; 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Paris  ; 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Lyons  ; 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Marseilles  ; 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Bordeaux  ; 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Rouen  ; 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Havre  ; 
Commercial  Institute  of  Paris  ; 
Commercial  School  of  the  Avenue  Trudaine  at  Paris. 

Third  Article. — Other  things  being  ecjual,  the  proof  that  the  candi- 
date has  already  passed  one  or  more  years  in  active  business  is  also 
considered. 

Fourth  Article. — The  competition,  announced  a  month  in  advance  in 
the  official  journal,  occurs  at  Paris  from  the  first  to  the  thirtieth  of 
December. 

F'ifth  Article. — Registrations  are  received  at  the  Ministry  of  Com- 
merce up  to  the  fifteenth  of  November. 

Si.Kth  Article. — The  competitive  examination  is  divided  into  two 
parts.  First,  a  written  examination  ;  .second,  an  oral  examination.  The 
written  examination  comprises  :  first,  commercial  geography  of  the  entire 
world  ;  second,  the  history  of  French  commerce  ;  th'rd,  a  composition  in 
a  foreign  language,  Engli.sh,  German,  Spanish,  Italian  or  Portuguese. 
The  oral  examination  includes  :  first,  the  commercial  geography  of  the 
entire  world  ;  .second,  French  customs  legislation  ;  third,  French  com- 
mercial law ;  fourth,  a  foreign  language,  Ivnglish,  German,  vSpauish, 
Italian  or  Portuguese,  at  the  choice  of  the  candidate. 

Seventh  Article. — These  diilerent  examinations  are  conducted  before 
a  jur}'  named  each  year  by  the  Mini.stry  of  Commerce. 

Eighth  Article. — The  candidates  judged  worthy  of  the  traveling 
.scholarships  will  be  a.sked  to  choo.se  their  place  of  residence  after  consul- 
tation with  the  Mini.ster  of  Commerce,  who  will  .strive  to  render  their 
sojourn  abroad  easy  and  pleasant,  by  reconnnending  them  to  large  French 
business  houses  and  procuring  for  them  as  nuich  as  po.ssiblc  the  a.ssistance 
of  diplomatic  and  con.sular  agents. 


12U 

Ninth  Article. — The  holders  of  these  scholarships  must  address,  each 
quarter,  to  the  Ministry  of  Commerce  a  study  upon  the  commerce  and 
industries  of  the  region  in  which  they  are  living.  They  must  add  a 
certificate  from  the  French  consul  in  the  district  where  they  are  residing, 
certifying  that  they  are  occupying  themselves  with  serious  studies,  with 
business  and  with  commercial  journeys. 

These  regulations  suggest  some  reflections  on  the  diploma  which  one- 
requires  of  the  candidate,  certifying  that  he  possesses  the  knowledge 
shown  in  the  programs  of  the  schools.  We  believ'e  then  that  the  exami- 
nation is  superfluous.  It  will  certainly  be  judged  to  be  so  later  when 
the  State  shall  control  the  schools  directly.  But  as  long  as  the  examina- 
tion is  recognized  to  be  necessary,  why  have  they  eliminated  from  the 
test  everything  which  relates  to  the  .science  of  commerce  it.self,  which 
forms  with  modern  languages  the  basis  of  the  instruction  in  the  .schools 
of  commerce.  lyaw  and  legislation  are  onlj^  auxiliary  branches  in  this 
instruction. 

Is  not  the  essential  rather  the  commercial  knowledge  of  the  .sort 
demanded,  attested  either  by  tlie  possession  of  a  diploma  or  by  an  exami- 
nation covering  the  program  of  the  higher  schools  themselves,  and 
satisfactory  statements  in  regard  to  the  state  of  the  health,  character, 
habits  of  .stud}',  intellectual  keenness,  industry,  spirit  of  initiative,  fine 
sense  of  honor,  etc.,  etc.,  all  things  which  escape  the  test  of  the  examina- 
tion ?  This  information  could  be  furnished  by  the  Chambers  of  Commerce, 
and  especially  by  the  man  who  had  emploj^ed  the  candidate. 

The  regulations  say  further  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the  fact 
that  the  candidate  has  already  passed  one  or  more  }-ears  in  active  business 
will  be  taken  into  .serious  consideration.  This  provision  authorizes,  by 
implication  at  least,  the  candidate  to  present  himself  without  having  had 
any  business  experience — a  thing  which  seems  to  us  undesirable.  We 
should  have  preferred  that,  other  things  being  equal,  practical  experience 
.should  receive  absolute  preference,  and  as  a  matter  of  principle,  consider- 
ing the  actual  state  of  commercial  in.struction,  this  practical  experience 
ought  to  be  insisted  upon  in  all  cases,  with  the  minimum  period  of  one 
full  year.  At  any  rate,  and  let  us  emphasize  this  fact,  if  the  foundation 
of  the.se  traveling  scholarships  is  to  give  the  best  results,  regard  must  be 
had  to  the  .state  of  health,  activity,  initiative  and  moral  character  of  the 
candidate,  and  more  attention  must  be  paid  to  commercial  knowledge 
than  to  legal  knowledge. 

The  holders  of  traveling  scholarships  must  address,  every  quarter,  a 
report  to  the  minister  upon  the  commerce  and  industries  of  the  countries 
which  they  are  visiting.  This  provision  is  excellent.  We  believe,  how- 
ever, that  one  ought  to  profit  by  the  experience  obtained  in  Belgium, 
where  the  report  of  a  scholarship  holder,  demanded  at  one  time  a  few 
months  after  the  trip,  is  now  demanded  only  after  a  full  year,  so  that  the 
pupil  can  make  a  careful  .study  of  the  commerce  of  the  countr}-  where  he 
is  living.  "Since  this  provision  was  adopted,"  M.  Grandgaignage, 
Director  of  the  Institue,  writes  us,  "  I  notice  that  the  reports  are  more 
thorough,  and  merit  publication  in  the  consular  reports." 

SCHOL.VR.SHIPS— Ai'PE.VL  TO  THE  Mkrch.vnts. — If  the  State  is  thus  so 

far  from  having  encouraged  commercial  instruction,  what  shall  we  say  of 

our  commerce  itself?     With   rare  exceptions  no  person   in   France  has 

understood  the  importance  of  this  instruction,  which  must  be  considered. 

9 


130 

as  truly  national  as  that  in  agriculture  and  industry' .  W'e  have  shown 
elsewhere  in  this  treatise  that  only  a  few  Chambers  of  Commerce — those 
of  Paris,  L3^ons,  Marseilles  and  Bordeaux — have  reall}'  made  sacrifices  for 
the  sake  of  this  instruction.  What  have  the  other  Chambers  of  Commerce 
to  the  number  of  103  done?  Absolutely  nothing.  Those  who  have  not 
created  schools  of  commerce  have  not  even  founded  scholarships  in  the 
establishments  in  which  they  ought  to  have  interested  themselves,  because 
they  are  representatives  of  commerce.  Is  it  not  incredible  ?  And  what 
have  the  syndical  chambers  of  merchants  and  manufacturers  done  ? 
These  number  167  in  Paris  alone,  and  the}'  count  members  perhaps  by 
the  thousands.  Alas  !  Thej^  have  not  even  founded  a  scholarship,  nor 
encouraged  in  any  way  the  graduates  of  these  schools.  Syndical  chambers 
in  the  provinces  to  the  number  of  343  have  shown  the  same  indifference  ; 
they  have  given  absolutely  no  aid  to  commercial  instruction,  as  absolutely 
nothing  as  to  the  study  of  theology.  How  about  our  municipal  councils, 
especially  those  of  the  large  cities?  The  same  indifference,  except  at 
Paris,  Lyons,  Havre  and  Bordeaux.  And  the  departments,  the  councils 
general.  The  same  disregard,  except  the  department  of  the  Lower  Seine, 
and  that  of  the  Bouches-du-Rhone.  And  what  of  the  learned  societies, 
and  especially  the  societies  of  political  economy  ?  Again  nothing ; 
absolutely  nothing,  except  the  Philomathic  vSociety  of  Bordeaux,  and  the 
Society  for  the  Protection  of  Commerce  in  Marseilles.  Our  economists, 
it  would  .seem,  ought  to  interest  themselves  in  something  else  than  the 
mere  development  of  economic  science.  A  certain  number  of  merchants, 
bankers  and  corporations,  whose  names  we  have  mentioned  above,  are  the 
only  individuals  or  bodies  who  have  understood  the  advantage  of  assisting 
the  instruction  which  aids  our  commerce  directly. 

Let  us  then  take  up  this  good  movement  and  aid  it  as  much  as  possi- 
ble. Who  should  assist  the  work  of  commercial  instruction  if  not 
commercial  corporations  themselves?  One  must  not  leave  the  whole 
burden  of  this  work  upon  a  few  ;  one  must  not  expect  everything  from  the 
State,  which  justly  a.sks  that  you  should  give  the  example  to  it  which  it 
needs  in  order  to  know  what  one  should  expect  of  it. 

If  we  should  secure  one  scholarship  from  each  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
from  the  Municipal  Council  of  the  leading  city  of  each  district,  from  the 
council  general,  and  from  the  .syndical  chambers,  we  should  have  a  total 
of  1062  scholarships.  This  would  not  injure  any  per.son  and  our  com- 
mercial in.st ruction  would  be  immensely  advanced.  It  would  then  take 
on  an  extension  worthy  of  such  a  nation  as  ours. 

Duration  of  the  Studies. — In  the  actual  state  of  our  schools  the 
three-years'  course  is  not  too  long.  The  School  of  Lyons  has  ju.st  extended 
its  course  to  four  years,  of  which  two  years  are  ])reparatory,  although 
lowering,  it  is  true,  at  the  .same  time  the  age  of  admission  to  fifteen  years. 
The  tv»-o-year  curriculum  adopted  by  the  school  at  Miihlhausen,  at  Rouen, 
Havre  and  Bordeaux  is  too  difficult  for  the  majority  of  the  pupils. 
Foreign  pupils,  moreover,  have  too  imperfect  a  knowledge  of  our  language 
to  enable  them  to  follow  the  course  with  advantage  from  the  beginning. 

Commercial  in.struction,  very  complex  in  its  nature,  must  strive  to 
develo])  the  judgment  of  the  pupil  at  the  same  time  that  it  furthers  his 
special  knowledge  and  his  profe.s.sional  .skill.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  it 
must  pay  .some  regard  to  the  age  of  tlie  ])U]>ils  and  to  the  length  of  the 
curriculum.     Tlie  age  of  the  pupils  and  the  time  devoted  to  the  work  play 


131 

a  great  role  in  all  educational  matters.  We  believe,  therefore,  that  the 
schools  at  Rouen,  Bordeaux  and  Havre  will  soon  be  ready  to  imitate  the 
schools  of  higher  studies  and  add  a  preparatory  division. 

Agk  of  Admission. — At  a])out  the  age  of  fourteen  the  pupils  in  the 
special  secondary  instruction  finish  the  studies  of  the  intermediate  grade, 
in  consequence  of  which  they  could  enter  the  schools  of  commerce,  where 
they  would  find  an  instruction  certainly  more  profitable  for  them  than  that 
of  the  superior  grades  of  the  special  secondary  instruction.  In  order  to 
recruit  their  preparatory  classes  the  schools  of  commerce  would  find  it  to 
their  advantage  to  lower  the  age  of  admission  to  fourteen.  In  exceptional 
cases  the  pupils  properly  prepared  at  fifteen  might  then  enter  the  higher 
school.  Those  who  could  not  pass  the  examinations  with  success  could 
spend  another  year  in  the  preparatory  class,  which  would  be  divided 
into  two  sections,  as  at  Lyons  and  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at 
Paris. 

BachkIvORS. — Those  holding  a  bachelor's  degree  are  exempt  from 
the  examination  ;  they  may  enter  directly  the  first  5'ear  of  the  higher 
school  at  Lyons  ;  Bachelors  of  Science  and  of  special  secondary  instruction 
enter  the  second  year  directly,  and  at  Marseilles,  likewise  provided,  they 
can  pass  an  examination  on  the  subject-matter  of  the  first  year. 

Number  of  Pupils. — The  number  of  pupils  at  the  .schools  of  com- 
merce has  not  increased  in  the  proportion  which  one  would  have  hoped 
from  the  movement  of  public  opinion  which  manifested  itself  in  favor  of 
commercial  instruction  immediately  following  the  year  1870.  In  187 1 
the  school  was  established  at  Rouen  ;  the  following  year  three  other 
schools  were  opened  at  Lyons,  Marseilles  and  Havre.  To  found  these 
four  establishments  they  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  capital  of  more  than  two 
million  francs  by  pla^ang,  it  is  true,  upon  the  patriotic  feeling  then  so 
nuich  excited  against  the  foreign  element,  and  which  desired  to  remove  it 
forever  from  our  offices.  But  no  new  school  was  established  in  1873.  A 
new  one  was  created  in  Bordeaux  in  1874,  and  with  this  the  development 
stopped.  The  enthusiasm  for  the  movement  disappeared  as  the  sentiment 
from  which  it  grew  died  out.  Little  by  little  we  returned  to  our  traditional 
indifference.  Observation  showed  that  it  was  much  easier  to  obtain  sub- 
.scribers  than  to  create  a  really  permanent  movement  in  favor  of  commercial 
instruction.  The  habits  of  a  nation  can  not  be  changed  in  a  day.  If 
money  is  the  sinew  of  instruction  it  is  necessar}^  that  the  schools  should 
grow  in  numbers  in  order  to  assure  the  success  of  this  branch  of  education. 
The  commercial  interests  of  our  leading  cities  had  subscribed  the  capital  for 
the.se  .schools  with  very  good  grace,  but  everything  .shows  that  they  intended 
for  th.e  present  to  pre.ser\-e  their  children  for  universit>-  instruction,  coimting 
upon,  we  know  not  whom,  to  fill  the  new  schools  which  they  opened.  But 
when  we  count  upon  our  neighbors  we  are  apt  to  suffer  cruel  losses. 

Statistics  show  that  each  year  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
young  people  enter  upon  commercial  or  industrial  pursuits.  To  hope  that 
one-tenth  at  least  of  this  number  would  attend  the  schools  of  conmierce 
of  various  grades  was  not  expecting  too  nuich.  But  .stati.stics  .show 
that  we  only  reached  about  one-thou.sandth  in  the  grades  of  superior 
instruction,  and  about  three  and  thirty-.scven  thousandths  counting  the 
pupils  of  primary  and  superior  primary  in.struction.  The  public  was  not 
slow   in   grasping  the  situation.      Even  at  Bordeaux,  in  1874,  '^  was  no 


132 

longer  possible  to  find  subscribers  to  establish  a  school  under  the  corporate 
form  by  the  sale  of  shares.  The  truth  is,  that  in  all  things  time  is 
necessarj^  to  prepare  the  public  mind  for  action,  and  that  in  1870  we  were 
only  superficially,  and,  so  to  speak,  artificially,  in  favor  of  commercial 
instruction  and  schools  of  commerce.  If  the  lesson  of  our  militar}' 
experience  had  demonstrated  and  borne  in  upon  the  public  mind  the 
insufficiency  of  our  general  education,  the  lessons  of  our  economic 
experience  were  not  yet  sufficiently  impressed  in  order  to  show  us  the 
insufficiency  of  our  commercial  instruction.  The  recovery  of  business 
came,  moreover,  verj^  soon  ;  thus  quieting  our  spirits,  ending,  it  is  true, 
by  misleading  public  opinion  on  the  subject  entirely.  One  doubted  no 
longer  of  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  countrj^ .  Why  should  we 
instruct  our  youth  in  commerce  when  commerce  was  going  on  so  well 
without  it  ?  This  recover)^  of  business  coming  so  quickly,  we  repeated 
the  financial  follies  of  the  empire,  which  was  then  like  a  vertigo  which 
took  possession  of  the  nation,  corrupted  with  the  ambition  of  becoming 
rich  rapidly  without  labor. 

To-day  things  have  changed.  We  are  paying  for  these  follies.  The 
lesson  has  been  terrible  ;  we  now  have  time  to  reflect.  And  as  we  see  on 
every  side  the  economic  progress  of  neighboring  nations,  we  shall  recog- 
nize that  our  commercial  education  lags  far  in  the  rear.  Everything  then 
points  to  the  approaching  success  of  the  schools  of  commerce. 

Of  1488  pupils  in  the  .school  at  Lyons,  there  were  137  in  the  silk 
division  of  the  school  ;  the  school  at  Bordeaux  had  230  pupils  in  its 
industrial  division,  leaving,  therefore,  a  total  of  7053  pupils  for  higher 
commercial  studies  since  187 1.  and  9238  in  primar}-  and  higher  primarj- 
instruction. 

The  examination  of  the  preceding  table  shows  a  continued  increase 
in  the  number  of  pupils  in  the  superior  schools  during  the  3'ears  from 
1872  to  1877.  The  growth  has  been  .sensibly  slower  from  1880  to  the 
present.  However,  thanks  to  the  creation  of  the  School  of  Higher  Com- 
mercial Studies,  the  annual  number  exceeded  600,  beginning  with  1883. 
In  1886  it  was  618,  falling,  however,  to  490  if  one  deducts  the  128  pupils 
in  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies,  which  would  show  a  dimi- 
nution of  about  100  pupils  as  compared  with  the  3'ears  1877  and  187S. 
This  diminution  is  certainly  due  to  the  law  relating  to  militarj-  exemption, 
which  did  not  include  in  the  cla.ss  exempt  from  the  examination  the 
the  graduates  of  the  .schools  of  commerce.  We  should  no  longer  ca.st 
upon  the.se  schools  a  discrimination  .so  marked,  as  it  is  undeserved.  For 
the  military  examination  does  not  correspond  in  .severity  even  to  the  final 
examination  of  the  first  year  in  the  higher  schools  of  commerce.  If  one 
had  wished  to  injure,  to  hamper,  the  growth  of  these  excellent  .schools, 
(jne  could  not  have  chosen  a  more  efficient  means.  One  can  scarcely 
attribute  so  unjust  a  discrimination  to  anything  else  than  ill-will. ^- 

In  that  which  concerns  the  primary  and  intermediate  .schools, 
figures  .show  a  con.stant  growth  in  attendance.  In  1884  the  number  of 
students  in  the  School  of  the  Avenue  Trudaine  decreased  about  fifty  in 

•  This  discrimination  has  since  been  removed,  ami  iu  the  last  two  years,  1892  and  1895,  attend- 
ance has  rapidly  increased  at  these  schools. 


133 

consequence  of  the  competition  of  the  Commercial  Institute,  which  was 
so  nearly  like  it,  but  the  following  year  this  loss  disappeared,  and  com- 
mercial instruction,  in  consequence  of  the  creation  of  the  institute,  saw 
the  total  number  of  the  pupils  increased.  The  Commercial  School  of  the 
Avenue  Trudaine  has  had  8780  pupils  since  its  creation  in  1863. 

FoRKiGX  Pupils. — At  the  vSuperior  School  of  Commerce  in  Paris, 
an  establishment  whose  reputation  is  widely  extended,  the  foreign  pupils 
sometimes  form  one-third  of  the  total  number.  The  School  of  Higher 
Commercial  Studies  had  ten  foreigners  in  the  year  1886,  a  total  of  fifty- 
one  since  its  establishment  in  1883.  At  the  .school  at  Lyons  there  is  an 
average  of  ten  foreign  pupils,  there  being  nine  for  the  .scholastic  year 
1885-86.  At  the  school  at  Marseilles  the  j-early  average  of  foreign 
pupils  is  from  twenty-five  to  thirty,  except  during  the  last  year  or  two 
when  the  fear  of  cholera  has  reduced  the  number  by  half.  At  the  school 
of  Bordeaux  there  have  been  forty-three  foreign  pupils  since  1874,  and 
forty-four  at  Havre  since  1880,  eleven  of  whom  belonged  to  the  year 
1885-86. 

Baccalaureate  Pupils. — It  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  note  the  pro- 
portion in  which  baccalaureate  students,  that  is  graduates  of  the  lycees, 
are  to  be  found  in  these  schools  of  commerce.  On  an  average  the  Higher 
School  of  Commerce  at  Paris  has  from  eight  to  ten  ;  the  School  of  Higher 
Commercial  Studies  has  this  year  fifty-one  ;*  it  has  enrolled  186  since 
1883.  There  are  fifteen  this  year  at  Lyons  ;  from  six  to  eight  each  year 
at  Marseilles;  thirty-five  at  Bordeaux  since  1874,  and  about  ten  at  Havre 
since  1880. 

Resident  Pupils,  Hale-Boarders  and  Day  Pupils. — The 
Higher  school  of  Commerce  at  Paris  has  received  half- boarders  onl)- 
since  1873.  Of  1650  enrollments  from  1873  to  the  present,  1152  were  resi- 
dent pupils  and  498  half-residents,  being  an  average  of  twenty- -three.  The 
vSchool  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies  has  this  year  fifty-two  resident  and 
seventy-four  half-boarders  ;  the  school  at  Lyons  eighteen  residents  and 
eighty-five  day  pupils  ;  that  at  Marseilles  fifteen  resident  and  ninety- -.seven 
day  pupils. 

Rewards. — At  the  end  of  each  year  the  pupils  who  have  pa.s.sed  the 
examination  in  a  satisfactory  manner  receive  either  diplomas  or  certificates. 
Gold,  silver  and  bronze  medals  are  awarded  in  the  schools  of  Paris  and 
Marseilles.  At  Lyons  at  the  end  of  the  second  preparatory^  year  the  pupils 
receive  a  certificate.  The  diplomas  of  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce 
and  those  of  the  Higher  Commercial  School  of  Studies  are  signed  by  the 
Minister  of  Commerce. 

Traveling  Scholarships. — Certain  schools  grant  prizes  in  the 
form  of  traveling  scholarships  to  the  best  pupils,  imposing  upon  them  the 
condition  of  presenting  to  the  director  of  the  scliool  a  commercial  report  upon 
the  countries  which  the\'  have  visited.  At  the  Superior  School  of  Com- 
merce at  Paris,  where  this  prize  was  establi.shed  by  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, a  .special  topic  is  a.ssigned  to  the  pupil  who  must  make  an  extended 
study  upon  it.  At  the  school  of  Lyons  the  graduate  has  free  choice  of  his 
subject,  as  also  at  Bordeaux.  At  Havre  the  traveling  scholarships  have 
been  alx)lished. 

*      :'!iis  year,"  in  the  discussion  of  French  schools,  means  1SS5-86. 


134 

Diplomas. — At  Paris,  Lyons,  Marseilles,  Bordeaux  and  Havre  the 
graduates  have,  up  to  the  present,  remained  faithful  to  their  chosen  career 
and  without,  one  maj^  say  a  single  exception.  We  believe  that  this  record 
is  unequaled  by  the  pupils  of  any  other  branch  of  instruction  and  we 
deduce  from  this  the  most  favorable  conclusions  both  as  to  the  schools 
themselves  and  as  to  the  career,  which  never  fails  those  who  devote  them- 
selves to  it  provided  they  have  been  properly  trained,  and  are  resolved  to 
follow  the  line  of  good  conduct  and  of  persevering  labor  to  which  they 
owe  their  diplomas.  What  finer  eulogj'  could  be  pronounced  on  ana- 
branch of  instruction  than  to  say  that  none  of  its  graduates  have  gone  to 
swell  the  ranks  of  the  discontented.  There  is  another  thing  which  we 
must  not  forget  in  regard  to  this  commercial  instruction,  and  that  is  that 
it  has  led  about  eighteen  per  cenr  of  its  pupils  to  try  their  fortunes  abroad. 
At  Bordeaux  of  93  graduates,  16  are  in  foreign  countries  or  in  the  colonies. 
At  Lyons  86  out  of  400 ;  at  Marseilles  37  out  of  230 ;  at  Havre  18  out  of 
125  ;  at  Paris  30  out  of  233,  being  a  total  of  187  educated  3'oung  men  who 
are  devoting  themselves  to  the  development  of  our  foreign  commerce.  This 
is  a  most  favorable  result,  and  speaks  well  for  these  schools  of  commerce, 
without  the  benefit  of  whose  training  these  young  men  would  have  probabh' 
remained  in  France. 

As  to  the  graduates  who  have  remained  at  home,  they  have  usualh- 
remunerative  posts,  formerly  open  to  foreigners  alone.  These  schools  ha\-e 
furnished  French  merchants  a  body  of  emploj-es,  specially  trained,  whom 
a  few  years  of  practice  make  into  exceptionally  valuable  assistants. 

Unhappily  the  number  of  pupils  who  pursue  their  studies  up  to  the 
obtaining  of  a  diploma  is  scarcely  fifteen  percent,  being  1 132  out  of  7369  for 
the  period  from  1872  to  1886.  Without  doubt  this  number  would  have 
been  considerabh*  larger  if  the  diploma  had  been  accepted  as  e  ground  of 
exemption  from  the  one-year  military  service  examination. 

Professors. — The  number  of  professors  varies  from  nine  at  the  .school 
of  Havre  to  thirt\^-t\vo  in  the  superior  schools  of  Paris.  The  salaries  are 
varied  in  proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  course  and  the  number  of 
hours  which  the  professors  give  to  the  respective  courses.  As  to  the  iniport- 
ance  of  the  courses  they  are  subject  to  various  estimates,  according  as  the 
in.struction  in  the  various  schools  tends  in  one  direction  or  another.  I'roni 
the  point  of  view  of  the  specialty,  it  would  seem  that  the  professors  of 
accounting,  of  merchandise  and  of  commercial  geographj-  should  be  found 
among  the  best  paid  instructors.  But  at  the  School  of  Higher  Commercial 
vStudies,  for  example,  where  one  gives,  it  is  true,  not  .so  nuich  time  to 
commercial  instruction,  a  professor  of  accounting  receives  only  one-sixth  of 
the  remuneration  per  hour  as  a  profe.s.sor  of  law.  There  are.  moreover, 
many  things  to  be  .said  upon  this  complex  question  of  instructors,  which  is 
closely  connected  with  the  definitive  organization  of  schools  of  commerce. 
We  return  to  this  subject  farther  on. 

Of  the  six  .superior  .schools  of  conunerce  only  three — that  of  Paris  in 
the  rue  Amelot,  that  of  Marseilles  and  that  of  Havre — have  directors  who 
also  teach.     Tliis  ix:)int  will  also  be  discuased  later. 


135 

A  Comparative  Table  of  the  Expenses  of  the  Various 
Schools  of  Commerce. 

Superior      Higher 

School.       Studies.  Lyons.         Marseilles.         Havre.    Hordeaux. 

Budget.       Budget. 

Salaries 87,000  117,110  63,167.55     44.979.70     18,866.75     61,400 

Food 70,000  63,593  20,321.10 

Rent,  Taxes  and  Insurance  32.000  8,453  8,274.15     10,454.12       6,276.40         .    . 

Heating  and  Lighting      .    .    8,500  14,160  2,197.10       '.917.52              .    .         2,300 

Laundry 6,000  5.079-45  1,525.30 

Maintenance  and  Repairs       8,000  5,900  2,073.95          361.75               .    .         2,400 

Advertising 3, 000  5,000  942.50       1,200.30       1,091.20       1,400 

Sinking  Fund 12,400 

Library 1,200  .    .               331.35              •    •            500 

Laboratory 1,600 

Miscellaneous  Expenses     .    3,100  4,700  703.75       1,933.05          395-9*^       2,000 

Water 1,985  990.45 

Materials  for  Manufacture         .    .  .    .  2,965.65 

Total  of  Expenses  .    .    .230,000228,780.45  103,161.50     61,177.79     26,630.25     70,000 
Total  of  Receipts    .    .    .230,000228.780.45     78,492.90    63,979.14     24,013.80    70,000 

Balances 24,668.60       2,801.35       2,616.45 

The  budget  for  1886  in  the  first  two  cokimns  can  be  modified  in  the 
course  of  the  scholastic  year.  They  are  made  tipon  estimates,  based,  it  is 
true,  tipon  the  experience  of  preceding  years,  notably  for  the  vStiperior 
School  of  Commerce,  who.se  receipts  and  expenses  can  be  estimated  almost 
exactly.  It  will  be  noticed  that  this  school  pays  rent,  and  practicalh^  con- 
tributes to  the  sinking  ftind.  In  the  budget  of  the  second  school  the  rent 
represented  by  the  anntiity  due  the  Credit  Foncier  does  not  figure.  The 
school  of  L^'ons  shows  a  loss,  as  also  that  of  Havre.  The  school  of 
Marseilles  shows  a  surpkis.  That  of  Bordeatix  is  assisted  by  variotis 
stibsidies.  One  will  find  the  expenses  of  the  Commercial  School  given  in 
another  chapter.  These  expenses  amount  to  120,000  francs,  of  which 
76,000  francs  are  for  salaries.  We  have  no  information  on  this  jx)int  as  to 
the  Commercial  Instittite.  The  Professional  School  at  Reims  expends 
61,000  francs  for  .salaries,  of  which  47,000  are  paid  by  the  State,  the  rest 
by  the  city  of  Reims,  which  also  pays  for  the  expenses  of  the  school 
buildings.  The  Superior  School  of  Commerce  more  than  balances  its 
expenses  and  its  receipts,  and  is  thus  enabled  to  contribute  largely  to  the 
sinking  fund.  The  Commercial  School  of  the  Avenue  Trudaine  is  also  in 
a  prosperous  condition.  The  .school  of  Marseilles,  in  the  provinces,  after 
having  had  a  deficit  for  manj^  years  on  an  average  of  11,472  francs  from 
1872  to  1881,  has  seen  its  receipts  exceed  its  expenses  in  1882,  1884  and 
1885.  The  schools  at  Lyons  and  Havre  and  the  School  of  Higher  Com- 
mercial Stttdies  at  Paris  regularly  show  a  deficit ;  that  at  Bordeaux  also  : 
but  the.se  losses  are  provided  for  in  the  latter  case  by  the  various  subsidies. 
As  to  the  Commercial  Institute  in  the  Chaus.see  d'Antin,  it  is  still  in  the 
first  period  of  its  establishment,  that  of  sacrifices  :  but  everj^thing  leads  us 
to  hope  for  excellent  results  in  the  near  future.  Finally,  the  school  at 
Rouen  is  suffering  ;  the  .school  at  Reims  has  ju.st  begtin  to  grow  ;  and  the 
Practical  School  of  Commerce  and  Accotinting  is  a  profitable  pri\'ate 
A'enture. 

A  comparison  of  the  programs  of  the  higher  schools. 
The  programs  of  the  superior  schools  of  commerce  possess  a  unifonnly 
common  basis  of  iirstrttction.     This  is  made  up  of  accotmting,  arithmetic, 


136 

penmanship,  geograph}' and  commercial  histon',  the  study  of  merchandise, 
French  and  foreign  languages,  law  and  legislation  relating  to  commerce, 
political  economy,  and  the  elements  of  the  phj^sical  and  natural  sciences. 
To  these  general  and  special  subjects  of  instruction  almost  all  the  schools 
have  added  visits  to  local  industrial  establishments,  and  some  of  them,  notably- 
the  Superior  Schools  of  Commerce  at  Paris  and  Havre,  take  long  trips  of 
inspection  throughout  France  and  in  foreign  countries.  Finally,  to  answer 
special  wants  or  local  exigencies,  certain  schools  have  added  other  branches 
of  instruction.  Such,  for  example,  is  the  course  of  elocution  at  the  schools  at 
Marseilles  and  Havre  ;  the  course  of  equipment  at  Marseilles,  Havre  and 
Bordeaux  ;  the  course  in  the  physical,  chemical  and  mechanical  sciences, 
and  the  course  in  drawing  at  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Paris  ; 
and  numerous  courses  in  law  at  the  School  of  Higher  Studies. 

Spirit  of  Our  Commercial  Instruction. — The  instruction,  more 
comprehensive  at  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Paris  and  at  the 
School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies,  is  more  limited  to  a  narrow  specialty 
in  the  schools  of  Lyons,  Marseilles,  Havre  and  Bordeaux,  where  one 
devotes  more  time  to  the  practical  exercises  in  the  commercial  offices  and 
less  time  to  theoretical  science. 

These  t^vo  tendencies  in  fact  have  shown  themselves  in  the  spirit  of 
our  commercial  instruction  from  the  foundation  of  the  school  at  Miihlhausen, 
whose  program  taken  from  that  at  Antwerp  made  a  departure  from  that  of 
the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Paris.  It  is  of  value  to  define  more 
exactly  the  motives  which  have  underlain  these  two  contrar^^  tendencies. 
Those  who  favor  confining  the  instruction  to  the  narrow  specialty'  argue  as 
follows : 

"When  a  school  has  a  well-defined  end,  all  its  instruction  ought  to 
tend  toward  this  end.  Whatever  departs  from  this  is  taken  from  the  time 
necessarj-  to  the  fundamental  studies.  Without  doubt  it  would  be  ver>' 
agreeable  to  know  everj'thing,  but  as  one  cannot  study  everything,  one 
must  resolve  to  limit  one's  self.  In  overloading  the  program  the  only 
result  can  be  that  the  pupils  have  studied  a  little  of  everything  and  do  not 
know  anj^thing  thoroughly." 

The  programs  of  the  school  at  Miihlhausen  and  those  of  the  schools 
at  Lyons,  Marseilles,  Rouen,  Havre  and  Bordeaux  have  been  constructed 
in  accordance  with  this  idea.     The  opposite  line  of  reasoning  is  as  follows  : 

"  Some  have  wished  the  commercial  schools  to  be  almost  exact  repre- 
sentations of  business  offices.  For  this  purpose  one  has  imitated  a  business 
house,  and  the  pupils  correspond  with  each  other  like  true  merchants.  As 
a  mere  exercise  this  does  not  seem  to  be  bad,  but  it  is  entirely  insufficient 
as  a  scheme  of  instruction.  One  sacrifices  theory  to  child's  play  and  to 
a  supposed  reality  which  in  fact  does  not  exist.  Is  it  not  a  strong  deception 
to  believe  that  you  can  find,  even  among  the  best  pupils,  5^oung  men 
capable  of  doing  real  business  service  at  the  time  they  leave  school  ?  One 
can  certainly  not  instruct  in  all  the  branches  of  business.  Which  branches 
shall  one  choose?  At  the  Polytechnic  School,  for  examjile,  the  purjwse  is 
to  train  engineers  and  officers  for  sjiecial  dejiartments.  One  might  believe 
lliat  each  group  should  follow  a  course  appro])riate  to  the  career  chosen  by 
its  members.  But  this  is  not  at  all  so.  The  pupils,  without  exception, 
foll(jw  the  same  courses,  and  in  consequence  these  courses  are  absolutely 
theoretical.  It  is  only  on  graduation  from  the  Polytechnic  School  that  the 
young  men  enter  the  schools  of  ajiplication,  where  they  pass  two  or  three 


137 

3'ears,  and  from  which  they  graduate  as  engineers  or  soldiers.  Why  should 
one  take  up  any  other  plan  in  the  training  of  merchants  ?  Is  there  any 
reason  to  complain  of  the  results  obtained  at  the  Polytechnic  vSchool  ?  Are 
not  our  engineers  sought  for  throughout  the  entire  world  ?  Cannot  one  say 
without  exaggeration  that  most  of  the  railroads  of  Europe  have  been  built 
b)^  them  ?  The  various  branches  of  commerce  are  more  numerous  than  the 
careers  open  to  }oung  men  leaving  the  Polytechnic  School.  But  there  is  a 
body  of  knowledge  common  to  all  these  branches,  and  their  generality 
necessarily  implies  a  general  theoretical  instruction." 

The  conclusion  of  this  line  of  reasoning  is  that  the  schools  of  com- 
merce must  be  made  polytechnic  schools,  to  which  business  houses  shall 
stand  in  the  relation  of  schools  of  application. 

*  *  * 

These  two  extreme  methods  of  regarding  commercial  instruction  have 
each  its  own  value,  for  they  contain  each  a  part  of  the  truth. 

So  far  as  the  first  line  of  reasoning  is  concerned  it  is  necessary  to  con- 
sider the  ver}-  difficult  circumstances  under  which  the  schools  of  commerce, 
established  since  1870,  were  placed.  It  is  also  fair  to  take  account  of  the 
current  of  opinion  favorable  to  the  practical  instruction  which  prevails  with 
us,  especially  in  commerce,  where  one  denies  the  efficacy  of  a  purely 
theoretical  commercial  instruction.  Finally,  for  the  class  of  pupils  compelled 
in  great  part  to  leave  school  for  the  employment  of  the  office  or  the  bank, 
is  it  not  necessary  to  attempt  to  communicate  rapidly  the  knowledge  by 
immediate  use  ?  It  was  then  under  the  pressure  of  these  various  influences, 
and  on  account  of  the  necessity  of  recruiting  their  classes,  that  the  managers 
of  our  schools  of  commerce  have  elaborated  their  programs,  from  w'hich 
the}-  have  omitted  everything  which  did  not  seem  to  be  directly  related  to 
commerce,  and  absolutel}'  essential  to  its  study.  On  the  contrar>',  at  the 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Paris,  attended  by  the  children  of  merchants 
in  easy  circumstances,  one  has  been  able  to  work  out  a  three-year  curriculum, 
less  elementary,  more  comprehensive,  more  general ;  where  theory  pre- 
dominates over  practice,  perhaps  to  even  too  great  an  extent,  and  an  effort 
was  made  from  the  \-ery  beginning  to  establish  a  program  of  studies  which 
carefully  worked  out  should  not  be  inferior  to-day,  from  a  scientific  point 
of  view,  to  that  of  special  secondan,^  instruction.  On  this  fact  is  based  the 
charge  that  in  this  school  everj'thing  is  sacrificed  to  theor5\  They  are, 
however,  following  a  correct  view  of  things,  inasmuch  as  they  wish  that  all 
special  instruction  should  be  solidly  based  upon  general  instruction.  More- 
over, so  long  as  the  superior  schools  of  commerce  are  aiming  to  attract 
graduates  of  secondar>'  instruction  they  must  take  care  that  the  latter  on 
entering  these  schools  should  not  find  themselves  engaged  in  a  course  of 
study  a  degree  lower  than  that  which  the}-  have  completed  in  the  colleges 
or  lycees. 

At  Miihlhausen,  and  later  at  Marseilles,  Lyons,  Rouen,  Ha\Te  and 
Bordeaiix,  they  preferred  to  model  their  schools  after  the  institute  at  Ant- 
werp, without  noticing  that  the  examinations  for  admission  into  the  last 
named  institution  are  relatively  high,  and  in  these  schools  they  fixed  from 
the  first  the  length  of  the  curriculum  at  tvvo  years,  though  it  had  been 
established  bj-  long  experience  that  three  years  of  which  one  may  be  a  pre- 
paratory^ year  constitute  the  minimum  period  necessar\-  to  higher  commer- 
cial instruction,  unless  the  pupils  are  Bachelors  of  Science,  or  of  special  sec- 
ondar\-  instruction.    The  institute  at  Antwerp  itself  has  added  a  preparatory 


138 

dass,  and  our  schools  at  Lyons  and  Marseilles  liave  done  likewise. 
We  believe  that  the  instruction  in  our  superior  schools  of  commerce  must, 
without  distinction,  follow  the  example  of  the  school  in  the  rue  Amelot  in 
everj'thing  which  relates  to  science.  A  reform  of  their  programs  in  this 
direction  would  offer  the  advantage  of  putting  them  in  a  position  to  receive 
the  bachelors  of  special  secondar^^  instruction,  when  the  movement  of  public 
opinion  brings  these  last  to  them,  a  thing  which  will  soon  happen. 

In  consequence  of  the  assimilation  of  the  special  baccalaureates  and  of 
the  classical  baccalaureates,  other  things  remaining  the  same,  this  modifica- 
tion of  their  programs  would  also  give  to  the  schools  of  commerce  an 
opportunity  of  preparing  for  the  examinations  those  of  their  pupils  who 
desired  to  join  a  universit>^  degree  to  their  diploma. 

^  *  '!< 

But  in  the  eyes  of  the  partisans  of  practical  instniction  a  good  comnier- 
cial  apprentice  is  not  necessarilj'  a  college  graduate  ;  quite  the  contrary'.  A 
good  commercial  apprentice,  the}^  say,  is  the  man  who  knows  how  to  cipher 
well ;  to  keep  books  well ;  who  has  good  notions  of  commercial  geograph>" ; 
who  has  learned  to  recognize  raw  materials  and  manufactured  products  ; 
who  can  reckon  up  figures  rapidly  and  transportation  charges  ;  who  knows 
how  to  cast  up  an  account  without  omitting  anything  ;  and  who  speaks 
several  languages.  ' '  This  is  our  object, ' '  they  say.  ' '  Ours  also, ' '  reply  the 
partisans  of  theoretical  instruction.  But  instead  of  deceiving  ourselves  as 
to  the  value  of  pretended  practice,  which  can  ne\'er  even  from  an  empirical 
point  of  view,  take  the  place  of  practice  with  real  things,  we  think  we  ought 
to  apply  the  precious  time  of  the  pupils  to  theoretical  studies  which  ha\-e 
become  essential  to  the  epoch  of  scientific  progress.  A  man,  they  continue, 
may  know  how  to  cipher  well,  know  how  to  keep  books  well,  and  still  l:)e 
a  most  pitiable  merchant.  How  often  does  one  see  good  accountants,  who, 
puffed  up  by  the  conviction  that  they  are  the  chief  cause  of  the  success  of 
the  house  that  emploj-s  them,  set  up  for  themseh'es  after  they  have  made 
some  savings,  and  become  banknipt  in  a  short  time.  The  calling  of  a  mer- 
chant demands  a  complex  of  qualities  which  cannot  be  acquired  at  school, 
and  which  render  it  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  all.  The  most  important 
of  these  qualities,  which  ever}'one  thinks  he  possesses,  but  which  is  the  rarest 
of  all  things,  is  clearness  of  judgment.  The  love  of  labor,  order,  economy, 
initiative  enterprise,  .scrupulous  honesty,  commercial  sense  are  also  other 
indispensable  qualities  for  the  merchant.  Do  you  pretend  to  teach  these 
things  ? 

IvCt  us  try  to  sum  up  the  valuable  points  in  this  di.scu.ssion,  which  dates 
from  1866,  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  the  .school  at  Miihlhau.sen  and 
which  threatens  to  become  eternal.  For  this  purpose  let  us  begin  by  formu- 
lating the  pedagogical  sjiirit  imderlying  these  two  methods. 

On  the  one  hand  one  has  limited  the  amount  of  time  given  to  general 
in.struction  for  the  Ijcnefit  of  .special  instruction,  and  of  the  professional 
instruction  based  upon  numerous  model  exercises  which  we  have  de.scriljed 
under  the  head  of  tlie  Institute  of  Antwerp. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  endeavor  is  made  to  .strengthen  general  and 
special  in.struction,  and  the  ai)plications  of  the  commercial  theory  in  model 
offices  arc  limited  to  the  mininnun,  leaving  to  practical  life  the  work  of 
finishing,  from  a  professional  point  of  vncw,  the  .studies  commenced  in  the 
.school. 


139 

The  first  ciuestiou  which  presents  itself  to  us  would  tlien  be  tliis  ; 

Shoilld  commercial  instnictio7i  give  the  preference  to  practice  over  theory  f 

Upon  this  point,  which  divides  the  schools  and  the  opinions  of  mer- 
chants, a  majority  of  whom  are  favorable  to  practical  instruction,  we  believe 
there  can  be  no  difference  of  opinion  in  an  epoch  of  industrial  progress  like 
ours,  where  the  level  of  instruction  is  coming  up  on  all  sides,  as  to  its  being 
absolutely  necessary  to  base  commercial  instruction  upon  a  general  scientific 
instruction  as  complete  as  possible.  Certainly  we  nuist  have  recourse  to 
practical  applications,  but  one  must  not  forget  that  application  is  simply 
putting  into  operation  the  principles  and  the  rules  which  constitute  the 
science  itself.  Theoretical  instruction  must,  therefore,  have  precedence. 
Above  ever>'thing  el.se  a  commercial  school  must  be  polytechnic,  that  is  a 
liberal  school. 

The  .second  question  is  the  following  : 

In  what  7c>ay  and  to  what  extent  shall  technical  i)istruction,  in  practice^ 
be  associated  to  either  general  or  special  theoretical  instruction  f 

In  answer  to  this  question  we  would  reply  that  the  fictitious  exerci.ses 
of  the  model  offices  are  insufficient.  Just  as  one  .shows  to  the  pupils  who 
expect  to  be  engineers,  farmers,  phy.sicians,  officers — true  mines,  true 
bridges,  real  farms,  real  patients,  real  fortifications,  real  cannons — in  the 
same  way  one  must  show  and  lead  the  pupils  in  the  commercial  schools  to 
study  real  busine.ss  and  commercial  houses,  real  accounts,  real  documents, 
real  transactions.  Profe.s.sional  study  is  limited  to  science,  but  one  does 
not  prepare  practitioners  without  practice,  and  it  is  necessar>'  that  this  practice 
.should  not  be  simply  fictitious.  The  school  of  commerce  will  be  then  at 
once  a  .school  of  polytechnics  and  a  school  of  application. 

The  third  question  is  as  follows  : 

Ca7i  commercial  instruction  develop  the  moral  qualities  which  make  a 
good  m erch ant  f 

This  third  point,  more  delicate  than  the  two  preceding,  does  not,  how- 
ever, give  us  more  trouble.  One  must  demand  of  a  good  education  all 
that  which  it  is  able  to  give.  To  pretend  that  the  qualities  demanded  in 
business  could  not  germinate  and  develop  in  the  commercial  .school  is  to 
place  commercial  instruction  a  degree  below  that  of  other  special  scho(jls, 
and  consequent!}-  to  deny  the  value  of  this  instruction.  The  painter, 
singer,  soldier,  priest,  missionan,',  physician  follow  careers  which  demand, 
besides  the  appropriate  knowledge,  special  qualities  which  the  .school  knows 
how  to  increa,se  or  to  beget  in  the  individual.  The  moral  qualities  which 
make  a  successful  merchant  are  in  the  same  way  acquired  by  an  education 
properly  ordered  and  methodically  pursued.  Instruction  must  always  be 
educative,  and  just  as  one  inculcates  patriotism  in  the  .soldier,  humanity  in 
the  physician,  self-denial  in  the  mi.ssionary,  the  cultivation  of  science  in  the 
.scholar,  devotion  and  culture  in  the  teacher,  love  of  beauty  in  the  artist ; 
in  exactly  the  same  way  the  aptitude  for  commercial  aff'airs,  a  desire  for 
work,  the  love  of  order  and  economy,  the  .spirit  of  enterprise,  clearness  of 
judgment,  probity — all  qualities  which  make  a  good  business  man — can  be 
taught  in  the  schools  of  commerce.  It  is  here  a  question  of  the  direction  to 
be  given  to  the  instruction  ;  a  question  of  training,  of  discipline. 

The.se  are  the  results  which  one  must  tr>'  to  accomplish,  and  the  means 
of  doing  so  can  be  found.  The  self-control  of  the  priest,  the  bravery  of  the 
soldier,  the  fiery  orator\-  of  the  advocate,  even  the  skill  of  extemporizing 
in    the    case  of  the   arti.st   and   the  poet   are  the  fruit  of  exercise  properly 


140 

devised,  and  methodically  and  dail}-  repeated.  In  the  same  way  the  quali- 
ties of  order,  of  economy,  of  foresight,  of  judgment,  of  integrity,  of  equit}' 
can  also  be  obtained  if  one  knows  how  to  develop  them.  The  commercial 
sense  itself,  or  the  sense  for  commerce,  the  sense  for  business  would  not  be 
an  exception.  Besides  this  each  profession  possesses  a  fund  of  experience, 
of  prepared  rules  and  precepts — of  trade  secrets,  so  to  speak — which  is  not 
the  exclusive  possession  of  any  one  person,  and  which   a  good  scheme  of 

instruction  should  have  and  know  how  to  propagate. 
^  ^  ^ 

Conclusion. — To  sum  up  the  matter  of  commercial  instruction,  all 
the  efforts  must  be  devoted  to  de\'elop  in  the  pupil  the  theoretical  and  prac- 
tical knowledge,  and  the  moral  qualities  which  a  business  career  demands. 
It  will  be  then  at  once  general,  special,  professional  and  moral.* 

It  wiU  be  general  by  its  program  of  the  sciences  ;  it  will  be  special  by 
the  direction  given  to  the  pupils  about  commercial  things,  by  the  importance 
given  to  the  study  of  accounting  ;  of  industrial  and  commercial  economy  ; 
of  living  languages  ;  of  penmanship  ;  of  geography  ;  of  history  ;  of  law  ; 
of  legislation  ;  and  of  political  economy.  It  will  be  professional  by  the 
careful  study  of  that  which  goes  on  in  business,  banking  and  commercial 
houses,  where  one  regards  order  and  method  by  practical  application  and  by 
the  study  of  things.  And,  finally,  it  will  be  moral  because  the  work, 
properly  directed,  impresses  good  habits  upon  the  youth,  and  because  the 
economic  instruction  results  in  an  elevated  and  moralit>' -producing 
philosoph}-. 

Critical  Examination  of  the  Actual  Prograjus  of  Study. — Let  us  take 
i;p  then  one  by  one  the  more  important  .subjects  and  indicate  the  modifications 
which  seems  to  us  desirable  in  commercial  instruction.  . 

Accounting. — In  examining  the  programs  of  the  commercial  schools 
one  sees  that  a  more  and  more  important  place  has  been  assigned  in  their 
instruction  to  accoimting.  It  is  plain  that  in  doing  so  they  have  yielded  to 
the  steady  pres.sure  of  public  opinion.  But  were  they  prepared  to  fill  up 
the  numerous  hours  given  to  this  in.struction  in  a  thoroughly  satisfactory- 
way  ?  We  do  not  believe  that  we  are  wrong  in  saying  that  even  the  directors 
of  the  commercial  .schools  themselves  consider  that  the  enormous  amount  of 
time  given  to  exercises  in  accounting  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  real 
value  of  this  in.struction,  and,  con.sequently,  to  its  results.  It  is  necessar>' 
then  to  make  a  reform  at  this  point.  Mu.st  one  reduce  the  number  of  hours 
given  to  the  .study  of  accounting  ?  Is  it  not  rather  neces.sary  to  modify  this 
instruction  and  to  organize  it  on  a  different  and  more  rational  plan  ?  It  has 
been  accu.sed  of  oscillating  in  an  uncertain  manner  between  theories — badl}- 
formulated — and  practical  errors  upon  which  the  profe.s.sors  base  their  cour.ses 
and  the  fictitious  books  which  they  require  their  pupils  to  keep  in  the 
commercial  bureau.  We  believe  that  instruction  in  accounting  should  strive 
to  become  at  once  more  .scientific  and  more  practical.  It  must  get  out  of 
the  .stationary  state  in  which  it  is  at  present.  We  think  that  while  .studying 
.seriously  tlie  .scientific  theory  the  .schools  of  commerce  would  find  it  to  their 
real  advantage  to  turn  their  attention  to  actual  practice.  We  should  like  to 
see  tlieir  nniseums  enriched  witli  admini.strative  materials,  which,  methodi- 
call}'  arranged  by  the  profe.s.sors,  .synthesized  by  means  of  their  summaries 

*  The  distinction  winch  ts  here  made  between  ."ipecial  and  professional  instruction  is  not  without 
importance.  Special  instr\iclion  can  be  piven  otitside  of  the  ijrofession  itself,  it  may  enfjrafl  itself 
upon  the  instruction  jjiven  in  the  exercises  of  the  model  or  fictitious  office.  Professional  jnstruclion 
grows  out  of  the  practice  of  the  profession  itself. 


141 

or  graphical  illustrations,  accompanied  with  explanations,  should  constitute 
the  material  for  lessons  in  things  relating  to  accounting  and  administration. 
In  consequence,  the  greatest  eflfort  should  be  made  to  enable  the  professors 
to  carry  their  instruction  in  industry,  banking,  commerce,  agriculture,  and 
the  great  branches  of  administration  into  the  field  of  practice  itself,  without 
being  obliged  to  go  outside  of  the  school.  In  this  way  all  the  exercises 
from  that  of  the  preparatory  class  up  to  that  of  the  third  year  might  be 
based  upon  the  materials  of  actual  l)usiness.  Moreover,  during  the  entire 
course  of  the  study  the  pupils  .should  be  funii.shed  with  documents  of  every 
.sort,  the  fac-simile  of  real  papers  referring  to  the  various  operations  of  the 
accountant  or  manager  of  which  we  have  just  .spoken.  The  collection  of 
the.se  documents,  their  di.stribution  in  connection  with  the  matters  discu.ssed 
and  the  various  correspondence  which  they  have  occasioned,  the  keeping, 
of  various  books  relating  to  these  operations  would  constitute  an  actual  li\'ely 
in.struction  which  would  interest  the  pupils  ver>'  much.  There  would  be, 
in  fact,  under  their  very  eyes,  the  foundry  ;  the  office  ;  the  bank  ;  the  farm; 
the  great  branches  of  admini.stration;  etc.,  le.ss  the  raw"  materials,  the 
manufactured  products,  the  ca.sh  ;  plus  the  demon.stration  of  the  professor. 
*  :i<  ;!;  ;;;  >;;  * 

We  believe  it  is  not  necessary  to  insi.st  upon  the  value  of  such  an 
in.struction  as  this  at  once  analytic,  and  .synthetic,  based  upon  actualities  sub- 
stituted for  the  more  or  less  fanta.stic  exercises  of  the  fictitious  office.  After 
having  been  initiated  into  the  first  theoretical  and  practical  notions,  the  pupil 
would  be  able  to  obtain  from  the  programs,  well  constructed,  at  a  glance  the 
system  of  accounting  and  the  various  branches  of  any  given  enterprise. 
He  would  follow  the  foundation  and  the  .series  of  operations  in  examining  the 
books  and  correspondence  relating  to  them.  He  would  understand  the 
purposes  of  the  various  documents ;  their  relations  to  one  another,  their 
centralization  ;  their  results.  His  attention,  at  first  concentrated  upon 
matters  of  detail,  would  gradualh-  rise  to  a  conception  of  the  whole. 
Aftenvard  he  would  form  little  by  little  comparisons  between  the  various 
branches  of  accounting  and  administration  which  had  passed  under  his 
eyes. 

This  study  would  then  become  an  object  of  a  distinct  cour.se  in  com- 
parative accounting,  in  which  the  profes.sor  would  pa,ss  in  review  the  vari- 
ous methods  of  keeping  books  ii.sed  in  actual  practice  ;  methods  who.se 
.special  advantages  and  disadvantages  he  would  .set  forth  and  discu.ss  from  a 
theoretical  point  of  view.  Upon  a  .selected  topic  from  real  transactions  the 
pupil  could  be  exerci.sed  in  the  practice  of  the.se  various  methods  :  English, 
German,  American,  synoptical,  logis-mographic,  etc.  Here  also  the  differ- 
ent systems  of  accounting,  constructed  in  accordance  with  these  methods, 
would  figure  in  the  museum  of  the  school,  and  would  be  set  forth  in 
graphical  tables  which  would  .synthesize  them.  Finally,  the  profe-s.sor 
arrived  at  this  point  in  the  cour.se  could  direct  his  attention  to  the  great 
.systems  of  accounting  in  mining,  metallurg\^  .sugar  industn.',  transporta- 
tion companies,  farms,  banks,  insurance,  and,  lastly,  public  accounting. 

Thus  organized  and  pursued,  we  believe  that  instruction  in  accounting 
would  really  merit  the  place  which  is  given  to  it  at  the  ba.se  of  economic 
in-struction  ;  that  it  would  increase  the  favor  accorded  to  our  schools  of 
commerce  ;  and  that  our  commerce  and  even  the  countr>'  itself  would  gain 
considerably  in  the  near  future. 


142 

Commercial  and  Industrial  Economy. — This  course  which  we  do  not 
find  figuring  in  any  program  ought  to  exist  in  all  the  commercial  and 
industrial  schools.  It  would  find  in  great  part  its  substance  in  the 
materials  of  the  preceding  course,  of  which  it  would  be  the  development, 
and,  so  to  speak,  the  crown.  The  professional  truths  derived  from  the 
facts  relating  to  commercial  and  industrial  experience  w^ould  complete  its 
subject-matter. 

"Wherever  human  industry  is  developed  and  concentrated,"  says 
M.  Courcelle-Seneuil,  "there  a  tradition  is  established.  The  founders  of 
enterprises  transmit  to  their  successors  tlie.se  traditions,  these  devices  whose 
truth  their  experience  has  led  them  to  recognize,  and  which  one  may 
rightly  consider  as  principles — their  maxims  in  commerce,  in  manufacture, 
in  agriculture  ;  and  in  each  of  the  sub-divisions  of  these  three  great 
branches  of  human  industr}'."' 

Some  of  these  truths  are  purely  technical  in  character  ;  others  have  a 
higher  significance.  One  should  teach  the  pupils  how  to  become  good 
employes,  good  buyers,  good  sellers,  good  cashiers,  good  accountants. 
But  the  art  of  buying  and  selling — that  of  paying  and  receiving — and  that 
of  recording  these  operations  do  not  constitute  the  whole  science  of  com- 
merce. For  a  good  purcha.ser,  a  good  salesman,  a  good  cashier,  and  a 
good  accountant  would  not  be  sufficient  to  ensure  the  success  of  any  enter- 
prise. It  is  also  necessary-  that  these  enterprises  be  well  organized,  well 
administered,  well  directed  ;  and  the  art  of  organizing,  administering  and 
directing  is  based  on  economic  science  in  this  sense,  a  necessary  comple- 
ment to  industrial  and  commercial  science. 

Without  contesting  then  the  utility  of  courses  in  political  economy, 
which  contain,  .so  to  speak,  the  general  philosophy  of  commercial  instruc- 
tion, we  should  like  to  see  in  the  programs  of  our  .schools  of  commerce  a 
course  in  commercial  and  industrial  economy,  from  which  the  pupils  would 
derive  great  professional  gain.  We  .shall  content  ourselves  here  with 
indicating  the  outlines  of  this  important  course  :  First,  of  the  various 
kinds  of  commercial  and  industrial  classification  ;  second,  the  capital 
necessary  for  various  enterprises  ;  the  necessity  of  determining  this  exactly ; 
the  establishment  of  the  business  ;  the  study  of  the  laws  ;  third,  of  mer- 
chandise ;  of  the  raw  materials  ;  of  the  margin  of  the  markets  ;  fourth,  of 
the  workmanship  ;  of  general  costs  ;  of  gains  and  losses  ;  fifth,  commercial 
and  industrial  organization  and  administration  ;  sixth,  the  importance  of 
accounting  in  methods  of  control  ;  the  exact  determination  of  the  selling 
price  ;  the  keeping  of  inventories  ;  .seventh,  of  the  conduct  of  the  business  ; 
of  the  material  and  moral  conditions  nece.s.sary  to  its  success;  of  credit; 
of  the  general  methods  of  conducting  it  ;  of  the  means  of  getting  rid  of 
middle-men  ;  eighth,  corporations — the  great  branches  of  admini.stration  ; 
methods  of  liquidation,  etc.  ;  ninth,  of  the  duties  of  the  employe  ;  of  the 
merchant ;  of  the  agent ;  of  the  .shareholder  ;  of  the  manager,  etc. 

Besides  their  own  personal  studies  the  professors  would  find  excellent 
help  for  such  courses  in  tlie  following  works  :  "  Philosophy  of  Commerce," 
by  M.  Stirling  ;  "  Tlie  Duty  of  the  Merchant — Conscience  and  the  Science 
of  Duty,"  by  M.  Oudal  ;  "  Ccmimercial  Practice,"  by  M.  Devi  nek  ; 
"Manual  of  Business,"  by  M.  Courcelle-Seneuil;  and  esiiecially  in  the 
excellent  treatise  on  "Industrial  ICconomy,"  by  M.  Ad.  Guil])ault,  a  very 
remarkable  work  relating  to  this  subject. 

J'rivatc  /iconomy. — Domestic  or  private  economy  is  at  the  base  of  the 


I 


143 

preceding.  He  who  does  not  carry  order  into  his  personal  affairs,  in  the 
management  of  his  own  house,  will  not  find  it  easy  to  carry  this  principle 
into  his  business  house.  If  it  is  wrong  to  expend  too  much,  it  is  a  still 
greater  wrong  to  expend  without  keeping  accounts.  Whoever  does  not 
keep  accounts  is  doing  business  on  a  \'enture.  Whoever  keeps  accounts 
reflects  or  will  reflect.  Confidence  and  credit  de.sert  the  prodigal.  Credit 
is  the  nerve  of  business  ;  a  house  of  any  importance  cannot  sustain  itself  by 
its  own  resources. 

The  future  merchant  must  learn  habits  of  economy  and  saving,  which 
is  nothing  more  than  putting  into  practice  the  le.s.sons  which  he  has  learned. 
Commercial  .schools  have  then  the  duty  of  developing  these  habits  by  oblig- 
ing the  pupils  to  save,  and  invest  their  savings,  however  modest  they  may 
Ix?.  These  savings  should  be  evidenced  by  a  savings  bank  book,  or  by  the 
purchase  of  securities  of  some  sort,  or  by  the  payments  of  special  premiums 
which  our  companies  should  inaugurate  for  the  benefit  of  the  schools.  If 
one  should  agree  to  this  view,  a  co-efficient  of  order  and  economy  might  be 
introduced  into  the  examination  mark,  similar  to  that  of  industry  and  good 
conduct.  It  is  then  by  training  the  judgment  of  the  pupils  and  by  endeavor- 
ing to  develop  in  them  the  professional  knowledge  and  the  moral  qualities 
of  order  that  .schools  of  commerce  will  fulfill  mo.st  completely  their  educative 
mission  and  that  they  will  do  .service  to  commerce. 

Arithmetic,  Alocbra  and  Geometry. — Besides  being  indi.spensable  to 
the  study  of  science,  mathematics  and  notably  geometr\'  exerci.ses  a  happy 
influence  upon  the  rea.soning  power  of  man.  Instead  of  desiring  to  limit 
this  instruction,  therefore,  one  must  develop  it  without  losing  sight  of  its 
special  application  to  business.  Let  us  ask  the  instructors  to  give  some 
time  to  mental  arithmetic,  an  excellent  exercise  for  a  future  employe  or 
merchant.  In  theory,  arithmetic  offers  combinations  which  are  infinite,  a 
circumstance  which  the  makers  of  .school  arithmetics  have  abu.sed.  In 
current  practice  one  is  ordinarily  limited  to  operations  of  simple  addition, 
subtraction,  multiplication  or  division,  or  to  the  rule  of  three.  One  should 
train  the  pupils  to  perform  these  various  calculations  very  rapidly,  as  far  as 
possible  without  recourse  to  the  pencil ;  this  sort  of  skill  being  very  useful 
and  much  prized  in  practice,  There  is  a  large  number  of  more  or  less 
practical  processes  of  rapid  calculation,  a  knowledge  of  which  should  be 
taught  to  all  pupils. 

The  instructor  should  not  omit  to  discu.ss  the  different  methods  of 
calculating  in.surance  used  by  French  and  foreign  companies  and  to  seize 
this  opportunity  to  emphasize  the  advantages  of  in.surance  for  the  merchant. 
In  short  we  are  particularly  in  favor  of  this  .sort  of  saving,  and  our  com- 
mercial schools  should  convert  their  pupils  upon  this  subject.  We  believe 
also  that  in  return  for  this  useful  propaganda  the  in.surance  companies 
would  not  hesitate  to  form  .special  combinations  for  the  u.se  of  pupils  and 
the  instructing  personnel,  as  well  as  the  Alumni  As.sociation  and  the 
schools  themselves,  for  which  by  means  of  annual  premiums,  provided  for 
b>'  gifts  or  by  legacies  left  by  the  friends  of  commercial  instruction,  one 
could  build  up  a  capital  which  would  ensure  their  future.  Could  not  one 
in  this  way  whether  l)y  means  of  gifts,  or  insurance,  or  grants,  create  retiring 
tees  for  the  personnel  of  these  establi.shnients  ? 

We  believe  that  by  taking  \\\t  .seriousl^^  a  plan  of  this  kind  the  most 
excellent  results  could  be  achieved.  "  Help  yourself  and  heaven  will  help 
you  "  is  an  adage  which  ought  to  l^e  in  special  favor  in  connnercial  .schools. 


144 

One  accuses  our  insurance  companies  of  being  merely  routinists  in  their 
management.  Is  not  the  fault  rather  in  commerce  in  general,  which  by 
adapting  itself  somewhat  could  have  compelled  these  companies  to  certain 
concessions  of  a  nature  to  render  more  easy  the  introduction  and  extension 
of  insurance?  For  example,  why  should  one  not  pay  the  premiums  in 
insurance  as  one  pays  his  taxes  ?  This  usage  once  introduced,  the  com- 
panies might  draw  bills  upon  the  insured  parties  which  they  could  pay 
through  the  post-office  or  otherwise.  It  is  easier  to  pay  small  sums  than 
relativel}'  large  annual  premiums.  One  would  popularize  insurance  in  this 
way,  and  render  it  applicable  from  the  school  on.  We  do  not  care  to  insist 
on  this  subject  at  this  time,  contenting  ourselves  with  calling  it  to  the 
attention  of  the  parties  interested  and  to  specialists.  Beginning  with  the 
schools  of  commerce  the  habit  of  insurance,  facilitated  and  simplified, 
would,  without  doubt,  get  possession  of  our  entire  education.  These  small 
insurances,  subscribed  by  the  boys  at  school,  would  be  later  converted  into 
large  insurances,  and  the  cause  of  insurance  would  be  definitely  gained  in 
France. 

The  professor  of  mathematics,  as  applied  to  commerce  and  finances, 
should  also  give  special  attention  in  the  third  year  to  the  study  of  the 
functions  of  popular  banks.  In  France,  especially  during  the  la.st  few 
years,  our  capitalists  manifested  a  tendency,  more  and  more  marked,  to 
realize  upon  the  funds  invested  in  industry-,  and  to  employ  them  in 
mortgage  loans,  national  securities,  etc.  These  .so-called  ' '  father  of  the 
family  investments ' '  will  some  day  cause  the  rate  of  interest  on  good 
securities  to  fall  below  three  per  cent.  During  this  period  our  commerce 
will  gradually  decrease.  When  the  obligation  of  entering  upon  business 
enterpri.ses  shall  be  again  imposed  by  the  necessity  of  things,  even  upon 
large  fortunes  on  account  of  the  small  rate  of  interest,  we  .shall  be  obliged 
to  return  to  labor,  which  is  the  true  source  of  wealth.  But  will  it  not  then 
be  too  late  ?  Will  not  our  industries  have  peri.shed  one  b^'  one,  and  shall 
we  be  able  to  resuscitate  them  again  ?  But  if  on  account  of  the  lack  of 
confidence,  or  indolence,  or  excess  of  prudence,  the  sons  of  the  bourgeoisie 
maintain  an  expectant  attitude,  there  is  no  lack  among  us  of  men  who  ask 
only  for  the  opportunity  to  work,  to  engage  in  business  enterprise,  and 
certainly  by  means  of  farms,  banks  and  popular  joint-stock  enterpri.ses,  we 
.should  be  able  to  create  a  new  .supply  of  active  producers.  In  a  word,  it 
has  become  necessary  to  make  it  po.ssible  for  intelligent  and  projx^rh- 
educated  men  of  the  lower  and  middle  clas.ses  to  get  out  of  the  ranks  of 
wage-earners,  and  to  undertake  enterprises  on  their  own  account. 

Capital  frowns  upon  labor,  but  labor  does  not  frown  upon  capital.- 
Germany  has  been  s])ecially  licnefited  by  its  popular  banks  ;  credit  has 
stinuilated  its  industrial  and  connnercial  development.  This  question  of 
lianks  is  of  special  interest  to  our  future.  It  is  for  this  rea.son  that  we  .sliouUl 
like  the  .schools  of  commerce  to  turn  their  instruction  toward  practical 
economy,  and  the  .study  of  the  principal  questions  connected  with  it. 

Among  these  questions  that  of  the  participation  of  employes  and 
laborers  in  the  ])r()fits()f  the  enterprises  in  which  they  are  engaged,  deserves 
to  be  .studied  in  the  schools.  Profit-.sharing  has  already  given  results  which 
it  would  be  usefiil  to  make  known  to  the  pupils  by  .sliowing  them  that  it 
.satisfies  the  .sentiment  of  .social  justice,  and  that  it  is  an  element  of  .stability 
and  pro.sperity. 


145 

Penmanship. — One  must  consider  penmanship  at  its  real  value,  giving" 
to  it,  in  the  eyes  of  the  pupils,  the  importance  which  it  really  has  in  practice. 
Finally,  penmanship  is  necessar>'  to  the  work  of  the  accountant  and  of 
correspondents.  He  who  possesses  a  beautiful  handwriting — an  evidence 
of  taste,  of  character  and  of  method — possesses  an  almost  certain  means  of 
finding  speedy  employment ;  his  other  qualities  will  do  the  rest.  We  know 
a  number  of  excellent  positions  whicli  Ijegan  really  with  good  handwriting. 
A  request  for  employment,  well  written,  makes  a  favorable  impression  upon 
him  to  whom  it  is  directed.  The  commercial  schools  then  should  raise  the 
co-efficient  of  this  subject  in  order  to  favor  a  careful  study  of  penmanship. 
Stcnoi^raphy. — The  study  of  stenography  ought  to  be  comprised  in  the 
program  of  the  preparatory  j-ear.  One  would  ensure  the  pupils  in  this  way 
the  ability  of  taking  down,  without  mistakes,  the  lectures  and  of  getting 
all  the  substance  out  of  them.  It  is  also  of  advantage  to  exercise  the  young 
men  in  expressing  their  thoughts  easily  by  exercises  in  elocution,  as  is  done 
in  the  schools  at  Marseilles  and  Havre,  and  those  of  the  United  vStates. 
But  none  the  less  important  to  train  them  in  taking  down  rapidly  the  words 
of  others.  These  two  branches  complement  each  other.  In  the  United 
States  stenography  has  become  a  very  lucrative  profession  for  both  sexes. 

Iiiduslrial  and  Commercial  Geof^raphy. — It  is  no  longer  neccssarj'  to 
demonstrate  the  advantage  of  instruction  in  geograph\\ 

"  Geography,"  says  M.  Rauel  Frary,  "  is  the  science  which  con- 
tributes most  to  make  us  educated  men  ;  that  which  procures  for  him 
who  possesses  it  the  most  real  distinction,  the  most  incontestable 
superiority  in  social  relations.  That  which  enables  him  to  obtain 
without  pedantry  the  title  of  '  learned  man.'  Our  other  branches  of 
knowledge,"  says  he,  further,  "  disappear  for  the  most  part  with  time, 
but  this  strengthens  and  develops  itself  continually.  The  books  which 
are  the  most  widely  read  next  to  novels  are  books  of  travels.  The 
well-managed  journal  is  intelligible  only  to  him  who  knows  geography, 
foreign  politics,  colonial  politics,  political  economy." 

"  Look  at  the  English  journals,"  says  M.  Thierey-Mieg,  "they 
are  principally  geographical  C}-clopsedias.     In  each  number  is  consid- 
ered everything  which  occurs  throughout  the  entire  world.      Why  ? 
Evidently  because  all  this  interests  the  English  reader. ' ' 
Commercial  schools,  we  are  happy  to  say,  have  always  given  a  large 
place  in  their  programs  for  the  study  of  geography,  even  exceeding  that  in 
classical  schools.     The}'  will  perfect  this  instruction  still  more.     They  will 
see  to  it  that  their  pupils  familiarize  themselves  with  the  collection  and  study 
of  commercial,  industrial  and  political  maps.     Their  efforts  will  be  directed 
toward  rendering  as  attractive  as  possible  the  study  of  a  science  which  has 
always  been  treated  in  too  dry  a  fashion.     We  wish  that  for  this  pui-pose 
they  would  establish  conferences,  which  might  be  conducted  by  travelers  or 
by  the  former  graduates  and  subsequent  holders  of  traveling  scholarships. 
These  conferences  might  be  held  in  the  evening  in  the  lecture-rooms,  and 
they  could  be  rendered  more  attractive  by  the  use  of  the  lantern,  by  maps, 
by  prints,  photographs,  etc. 

The  museum  of  the  school  should  have  relief  maps  of  the  principal 
countries,  and  its  library-  should  contain  collections  and  photographs, 
history  of  travels,  ilhistrated  books,  etc.  Industry  and  connnerce  nc^d  to 
know  their  field,  that  is  to  say  the  whole  world,  to  give  to  their  eff"orts  the 
most  profitable  direction.      Geography  enlarges  the  horizon  of  young  men  ; 


146 

it  shows  a  multitude  of  careers  where  their  activity  can  find  an  emploj-ment 
-far  more  profitable  than  the  clerkship  or  government  careers. 

]\L  Rauel  Frary  is  right  in  saying  "  Let  us  say  to  short-sighted 
people  who  claim  that  emigration  is  useless  because  France  is  not  yet 
thickly  populated,  and  because  we  have  not  yet  the  surplus  popula- 
tion to  be  sent  abroad  :  Our  bourgeoisie,  in  spite  of  its  \-oluntar\- 
sterilit}',  is  too  numerous.  Its  children  strive  v/ith  one  another  in 
government  schools  and  in  the  public  departments.  In  order  to  offer 
employment  to  this  crowd  of  candidates  the  go^^emment  creates  new 
positions.  Far  from  delivering  the  body  social  from  these  parasites 
the  public  is  even  increasing  their  multitude  day  by  day.  Emigra- 
tion, whether  to  foreign  countries  or  to  the  colonies,  frees  the  soil 
of  a  useless  encumbrance.  It  opens  markets  to  our  national  labor. 
The  success  of  those  who  go  increases  the  welfare  and  stimulates  the 
utility'  of  those  who  remain." 

The  truth  of  this  is  proven  by  what  occurs  in  German}'  and  Switzer- 
land, where  for  a  long  time  past  the  study  of  geography  and  foreign  lan- 
guages has  been  steadily  developed.  From  this  point  of  view  the  special 
secondarj^  instruction  of  these  two  countries  would  seem  to  have  for  a  chief 
end  the  training  of  emigrants. 

Study  of  Railroads,  Tariffs,  Coiumcrcial  and  Industrial  Equipment. 
— This  course  is  closelj^  connected  with  commercial  geography.  It  demands 
special  maps,  indicating  the  courses  of  the  railroads,  canals,  the  navigable 
portion  of  streams  and  rivers,  and  the  small  and  great  lines  of  steamboats. 
These  maps  to  be  useful  must  be  accompanied  with  indications  of  distances, 
points  of  departure,  the  length  of  the  trip,  the  length  of  the  voyage,  etc. 
One  would  initiate  in  this  way  the  student  into  a  knowledge  of  the  different 
tariffs  of  transportation.  The}'  would  then  learn  to  distinguish  between 
the  general,  special  and  international  tariffs  of  the  railroads  ;  a  point  in 
regard  to  which  so  many  merchants  are  in  ignorance.  They  would  study 
the  different  systems  of  classification  of  merchandise  adopted  by  the  different 
companies,  and  var^'ing  with  each  one  of  them.  They  would  be  shown 
the  advantage  which  is  claimed  for  the  application  of  one  operation  in  pre- 
ference to  another,  and  to  direct  their  shipments  by  keeping  an  exact  account 
of  the  differences  of  price  according  to  the  line  adopted.  A  similar  course 
closed  by  careful  study  of  the  custor.is  tariff  ought  to  appear  in  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  school  in  the  last  year  at  least,  and  be  entrusted  to  a  specialist. 
The  postal  tariffs  would  also  be  a  subject  of  instruction,  of  the  practical 
study  of  which  an  example  is  already  given  in  the  instruction  in  tlie  Prac- 
tical School  of  Conunerce  and  Accounting. 

Finally,  to  render  this  study  of  tariffs  as  profitable  as  possible  it  would 
be  necessary  to  place  under  the  eyes  of  the  students  all  the  actual  docu- 
ments used  in  practice,  and  to  imitate  shipments  of  every  sort  to  render 
them  familiar  with  the  .subject.  One  will  find  examples  of  real  operations 
in  the  accounting  operations  of  which  we  have  alrcad}-  spoken.  In  com- 
paring the  various  methods  of  shipment  by  post,  by  rail  or  otherwise,  one 
would  set  forth  the  exact  differences.  The  same  comparison  would  be 
made  for  the  different  methods  of  packing  for  .shipment,  and  a  study  of 
the  different  methods  of  re.shipment.  In  the  les.sons  upon  commercial  and 
industrial  eqiu'j^ment,  transportation  enterprises,  docks,  etc.,  present  also 
matters  of  interest  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  emphasize  further  here.  These 
lessons  would  ])e  su]:)i)lcmented  to  ad\'antage  by  visits  to  the  shops  and 


147 

factories,  and  during  the  Easter  vacation  by  trips  to  foreign  countries,  under 
the  guidance  of  a  director,  as  is  now  practiced  in  the  Superior  Schools  of 
Commerce  at  Paris  and  Havre. 

Commercial  and  Industrial  Tcchnolooy . — This  course  constitutes  at 
once  a  part  of  the  general,  special  and  professional  instruction.  It  should 
be  given,  therefore,  in  all  three  years,  becoming  more  practical  in  propor- 
tion as  the  pupil  advances,  and  finally  ending  in  a  comparative  study  of  the 
means  of  transportation;  tariffs;  commercial  and  industrial  equipment. 

Rata  and  Manufactured  Products. — A  preliminary  knowledge  of  the 
physical  and  chemical  qualities  of  products  will  be  acquired  in  the  labora- 
tory and  in  the  sample  nuiseums  of  the  school.  Theoretical  study,  there- 
fore, will  form  the  beginning  of  this  important  course.  The  pupils  will 
consequently  be  trained  to  distinguish  the  different  types  of  raw  materials 
and  of  manufactured  products,  and  to  recognize  their  essential  qualities; 
their  forms  of  production;  and  their  value.  They  will  be  given  general 
explanations  as  to  the  different  processes  of  production,  extraction  and 
manufacture.  The  various  adulterations  will  be  explained  to  them,  and 
they  will  learn  to  distinguish  products  little  by  little,  either  by  sight,  taste, 
touch,  reactions,  chemical  analyses,  or  by  microscopical  investigations. 

In  the  museum  of  the  school  general  graphical  tables  will  indicate  the 
various  forms  of  raw  products,  of  the  raw  material,  of  colonial  commodi- 
ties classified  in  series.  They  will  give  general  indications  as  to  the  com- 
mercial quality  of  the  products.  These  tables  will  refer  to  geographical 
maps,  where  wall  be  indicated  by  colors  the  zones  of  production,  and  the 
annual  value  of  their  exportation.  Explanatory'  remarks  in  the  margin  of 
these  maps  will  complete  the  commercial  information  and  give  useful 
statistics.  The  tables  showing  the  production  of  cotton,  silk,  w^ool,  sugar, 
coal,  various  metals,  seeds,  cereals  will  be  well  completed  by  diagrams 
indicating  the  variations  in  price  of  the  most  important  mercantile  commodi- 
ties. This  course,  essentially  practical,  constituting  the  conclusion  of  the 
courses  in  physics,  chemistry,  mechanics,  commercial  and  industrial  geogra- 
phy, technology,  etc. ,  should  not  be  limited  to  the  explanations  and  manipu- 
lations in  the  laboratories  and  museums,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  the 
various  schools  of  commerce  have  adopted,  in  a  more  or  less  intermittent 
form,  the  system  of  industrial  visits,  which,  of  themselves,  seem  to  us 
insufficient.  However  wise  the  professor  of  technology  may  be  who 
conducts  the  pupils  into  industrial  establishments,  he  is  often  obliged  to 
content  himself  with  generalities.  Each  branch  of  industry  has  its  trade 
secrets,  which  are  continually  modified.  The  encyclopaedias  and  special 
treatises  must  constantly  keep  in  touch  with  the  practice.  The  pupil  then, 
after  having  arrived  at  a  certain  stage  of  knowledge,  would  get  more 
advantage  from  conferences  conducted  by  specialists  in  the  different  indus- 
tries. These  conferences  should  commence  in  the  verj-  first  year  of  the 
regular  course  ;  they  would  take  place  in  the  shops  and  even  in  the  factories 
of  such  manufacturers  as  would  consent  to  do  so.  One  would  pass  then  in 
review  the  different  industries  :  silk  ;  ceramics  ;  glassware  ;  materials  of 
construction  ;  paper  ;  paste-board  ;  chemical  products  ;  furniture  ;  metals; 
leather  and  hides. 

The  Art  of  Buying  and  Scllino-. — Aside  from  the  professional  skill 
which  is  the  result  of  the  personal  ability  and  experience  of  a  merchant, 
the  art  of  buying  and  selling  conforms  to  certain  principles  which  can  be 
taught  in  the  school.      The  various  elements  of  the  curriculum  of  the 


148 

commercial  school  should  converge  toward  one  end — to  make  merchants  ; 
and  it  would  be  surprising  if  this  instruction  were  to  stop  at  the  very 
threshold  of  the  culminating  point  of  the  science  of  commerce.  Moreover, 
the  operations  of  purchase  and  sale,  carried  on  in  a  manner  to  leave  a 
profit,  a  just  remuneration,  for  capital,  labor  and  the  service  which  the 
merchant  renders,  presupposes  a  knowledge  of  arithmetic  and  accounting 
which  enables  him  to  fix  the  price  at  which  things  must  be  resold  in  order 
to  yield  a  profit,  as  well  as  a  knowledge  of  the  market — its  wants,  its 
extent — and  also  of  merchandise  itself.  The  same  operations  carried  on 
with  foreign  countries  necessitate,  moreover,  the  knowledge  of  foreign 
languages,  of  commercial  usages  and  of  monetar>^  systems.  All  these 
branches  of  knowledge,  and  others  also,  constitute  a  part  of  the  program 
of  commercial  instruction,  comprising,  moreover,  the  mechanism  of  the 
great  speculation  markets.     What  remains  then  to  teach  the  pupil 

The  art  of  earning  money,  like  that  of  winning  a  battle,  must  be 
tested  in  the  field.  But  to  win  battles  it  is  necessar}^  to  have  studied  tac- 
tics and  strateg)',  and  the  various  branches  of  knowledge  relating  to  these 
subjects.  We  may  then  learn  commercial  tactics  and  strategy  from  former 
merchants  who  have  retired  from  business,  and  are  willing  to  devote  the 
substance  of  that  which  the}'  know  for  the  instruction  of  young  merchants. 
The  results  of  their  personal  observation  ;  the  experience  which  they  have 
gained  from  others  ;  that  which  they  have  themselves  acquired,  these 
merchants  might  impart  in  a  general -way,  or  as  they  relate  to  certain 
branches  of  business.  This  course,  which  would  not  be  the  least  interest- 
ing of  those  which  we  have  described,  would  form  the  element  of  a  tech- 
nological conference  of  which  we  have  already  spoken  above,  as  well  as 
the  course  in  commercial  and  industrial  economy. 

Marine  Eqjiipnicnf. — This  course  corresponds  to  certain  local  wants. 
It  is  given  at  three  schools  :  at  Marseilles,  Havre  and  Bordeaux.  One 
must  take  care  that  this  course  is  not  extended  imduly,  and  shall  not 
become  a  course  in  naval  architecture,  which  would  be  superfiuous  and 
could  hardly  be  considered  a  part  of  commercial  instruction. 

French  Langziage. — The  work  in  the  French  language  should  be 
completed  in  the  preparatory  class.  In  the  upper  classes  the  pupils  should 
occupy  themselves  with  literature,  histor}-,  reading,  outlines  of  literary 
hi.story,  etc.  This  part  of  the  instruction  would  relieve  the  minds  of  the 
pupils  from  the  severe  tension  which  the  positive  instruction  requires.  The 
merchant  of  to-day,  moreover,  ought  not  to  be  a  stranger  in  the  literary  field. 

Another  reason,  based  on  physiolog}-,  would  require  such  instruction 
as  this.  Man  is  rather  formed  for  action  and  contemplation,  for  physical 
exercise  or  53r  poetry,  than  for  analysis  and  scientific  abstraction.  For 
this  reason  we  would  include  g^'mnastics  and  literature  in  the  economic 
curricuhim,  as  well  as  music  which  is  a  form  of  poetry  at  the  same  time 
that  it  is  an  education  of  the  senses.  Monthly  literar}-  conferences  should 
be  held  in  tlie  evenings,  concurrently  with  the  conferences  in  conunercial 
geography.  In  these  might  l)e  treated  especially  the  literature  of  the  dif- 
ferent nations,  and  the  more  important  recent  additions  to  literatiu'c. 
Finally,  the  study  of  French,  besides  l>eing  the  occasion  of  numerous  oral 
exercises,  which  should  train  the  style  of  the  students,  would  be  a  good 
opportunity  for  commercial  essays  or  abstracts  of  certain  courses  and 
accounts  of  the  Thursday  visits.  Each  pupil  should  be  obliged  to  have 
his  book  of  essays  relating  to  things  done  outside  of  the  school. 


149 

Forcl^i^n  Layiguagcs. — We  have  already  indicated  certain  modifica- 
tions, which,  in  our  opinion,  ought  to  be  introduced  into  the  instruction 
in  foreign  languages  in  our  commercial  schools%  an  instruction,  which,  up 
to  the  present,  has  been  modeled  too  exclusively  upon  that  of  the  classical 
languages.  Is  it  by  reading  the  classic  authors  to  her  child  that  a  mother 
teaches  it  to  understand  the  persons  who  speak  to  it  and  to  make  itself 
understood  by  them  ?  A  child  of  five  years  of  age  has  no  idea  of  rules  of 
grammar,  while  it  may  employ  fluently  and  correctly  a  large  number  of 
words  and  phrases  to  express  its  thought  at  this  age  ;  it  may  already 
speak  several  languages.  In  Russia,  Poland,  Greece,  Egypt  and  Den- 
mark young  children  converse  by  turn  in  French,  Ivnglish,  Italian  and 
their  mother  tongue.  We  are  acquainted  with  families  in  Paris  from  the 
colonies  whose  children  speak  five  languages. 

Under  the  influence  of  necessity  a  Frenchman  residing  abroad,  or  a 
person  residing  in  France,  learns  ver\'  quickly  to  express  himself  in  the 
foreign  tongue — a  few  weeks  is  sufficient ;  with  the  aid  of  a  teacher,  a 
complete  mastery  may  be  gained  in  six  months,  at  least  so  far  as  the  wants 
of  commerce  demand.  This  result  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  memory,  ear 
and  tongue  are  all  trained  at  the  same  time.  This  circumstance  indicates 
the  proper  method  to  be  followed.  One  should  turn  our  schools  of  com- 
merce into  a  sort  of  French  colony.  Certain  days  should  be  fixed  when 
each  of  the  languages  to  be  learned  should  be  exclusively  employed  in 
conversation,  outside  of  the  lecture-room.  The  teachers  of  language,  much 
more  closely  attached  to  the  schools  than  they  are  at  present,  should  be 
present  at  the  meals,  in  the  study-rooms  and  in  the  play-rooms.  The 
non-instructing  personnel  of  the  school  should  be  composed  entirely  of 
foreigners,  each  speaking  two  languages  besides  French.  One  would  thus 
surround  the  pupils  with  persons  required  to  converse  with  them  in  the 
languages  designated,  and  never  in  French.  In  a  word,  one  would  create 
the  necessity  and  the  obligation  to  learn  the  language  just  as  in  a  foreign 
country . 

By  this  rational  method,  which  demands  simultaneous  training  of  the 
memory,  ear  and  tongue,  progress  would  be  much  more  rapid.  In  the 
three  j'ears  of  the  commercial  curriculum  the  young  people  accustomed  to 
study  would  easily  master  three  languages,  and  could  learn  to  understand  a 
larger  number.  One  may  object  to  the  introduction  of  this  method,  think- 
ing it  would  largely  increase  the  expense  of  the  schools.  But  as  the  old 
saying  goes,  "  He  who  wishes  the  end  must  wish  the  means."  One  must 
pause  to  consider  the  results,  for  it  is  the  results  which  satisfy  the  public 
and  secure  success.  We  are  generally  divided  between  the  desire  to  instruct 
our  children  in  foreign  languages  and  the  conviction  that  one  can  do  this 
successfully  only  by  sending  them  abroad.  But  as  it  is  painful  to  send 
one's  children  away,  and  is,  moreover,  not  always  an  ea.sy  thing  to  do, 
and  finally  as  it  may  seem  hardly  reasonable  to  sacrifice  a  whole  year  for 
the  sake  of  a  single  subject,  it  almost  always  turns  out  that  nothing  is 
accomplished.  In  this  way  the  study  of  foreign  languages  among  us  is 
very  limited.  But  would  not  tilings  change  altogether,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  commercial  .schools,  if  this  establishment  should  prove  by 
positive  results  the  po.ssibility  of  teaching  foreign  languages  in  France 
itself?  Then  without  doubt,  by  this  fact  alone,  the  commercial  schools 
would  attract  public  favor,  and  their  classrooms  would  soon  become  too 
small. 


150 

Eloaitio7i,  Co7ifcrences. — The  ordiiiarj'  business  man  certainly  lacks 
facility  of  speech.  Is  it  not  this  fact  which  keeps  them,  to  the  great 
damage  of  the  countn,-,  out  of  the  public  legislative  halls,  which  are  left, 
so  to  speak,  almost  exclusively  to  the  politicians,  while  the  real  interests 
of  the  nation  demand  specially  the  experience  of  men  trained  in  business 
practice  and  accustomed  to  the  difficulties  of  administration  ?  Our  com- 
mercial schools  then  should  train  their  pupils  to  express  themselves  before 
an  audience.  They  should  accomplish  this  by  repeated  exercises  in 
elocutionary  reading  ;  the  students  should  accompanj^  these  readings  with 
explanations.  Finally,  these  exercises  might  be  replaced  by  short  debates 
upon  given  subjects,  as  is  done  at  the  schools  of  Marseillee?  and  Havre. 
The  director  of  the  school  might  preside  at  these  debates.  The  instructors 
in  the  office,  and  the  teachers  in  geography,  commercial  law,  industrial  and 
commercial  economy  should  also  be  present. 

The  questions  should  relate  to  the  subjects  in  which  instruction  is 
given.  From  ten  to  fifteen  minutes  might  be  allowed  for  each  speech. 
Each  of  the  professors  might  correct  the  speech  both  as  to  the  style  and 
the  manner  of  the  pupil  falling  within  his  field  of  instruction.  The  subject 
to  be  debated  might  be  indicated  at  the  close  of  each  discussion  for  the 
following  day,  and  the  referees  appointed.  The  use  of  notes  might  be 
allowed  to  the  debater,  but  he  should  not  be  allowed  to  read  his  speech. 
At  the  end  of  each  debate,  and  after  the  pupils  have  gone  out,  marks 
might  be  given  by  the  director  and  professors  present,  the  same  as  at 
examinations.  In  order  to  give  to  these  conferences  the  importance  which 
the}'  merit,  it  would  be  desirable  for  one  of  the  members  of  the  council  of 
the  school,  assisted  by  several  of  his  colleagues,  to  preside  at  least  once  a 
month. 

In  the  course  of  his  career  the  merchant  is  frequently  called  upon  to 
defend  his  interests.  He  will  certainly  be  able  to  do  this  in  a  much  more 
efficient  manner  if  he  has  been  trained  in  public  speaking.  In  the  cham- 
bers of  administration,  in  thesyndical  chambers,  in  the  consular  tribunals 
to  which  he  belongs,  he  would  certainly  derive  great  advantages  from  such 
facility.  Finall)',  commercial  schools  have  also  the  mission  to  train  instruc- 
tors for  the  commercial  schools,  and  for  this  purpose  lessons  in  elocution 
are  certainly  ver^^  desirable. 

Commercial  La7i\  Legislation. — A  knowledge,  at  least  in  outline,  of 
the  code  of  commerce  and  of  the  various  systems  of  law,  is  necessary-  to 
the  merchant.  But  we  must  not  give  too  nuich  space  to  this  study  for  fear 
that  the  merchant,  confident  of  his  own  knowledge,  should  come  to  believe 
that  he  could  later  disregard  the  advice  of  specialists,  which  would  certainly 
be  a  source  of  danger.  One  should  strive  to  give  a  practical  character  to 
this  course.  As  a  complement  to  the  theory  of  commercial  law  each  school 
should  possess  a  complete  collection  of  judicial  and  extra-judicial  decisions 
carefully  annotated,  and  which  the  professor  might  use  to  explain  to  the 
pupils  the  mechanism  and  usages  of  procedure,  the  turns  to  which  it  lends 
itself  in  skilfull  hands,  the  contradictions  of  jurisprudence,  the  small  basis 
there  is  to  human  justice,  and  finally  the  great  advantage  which  even  an 
imfavorable  compromise  ordinarily  has  over  a  successful  law  suit. 

In  our  opinion  the  truly  moral  and  ])ractical  side  of  this  instruction 
would  be  in  inculcating  a  respect  for  law,  for  the  rights  of  others,  and  to 
make  each  pupil  a  sworn  enemy  to  law.suits.  It  is  in  this  spirit  that  one 
should  warn  them  against  the  many  inconveniences  and  dangers  of  a  suit, 


151 

which  takes  from  business  precious  time  and  energy,  which  deprives  the 
merchant  of  that  tranquillity  of  spirit  which  he  needs  so  much  in  order  to 
conduct  his  business  well,  and  which  does  not  often  accomplish  anything 
else  than  empty  satisfaction  and  the  enrichment  of  lawyers. 

Pbvsical  and  Natural  Scioum. — The  elements  of  these  sciences  form 
a  part  of  the  general  instruction  which  the  pupil  has  received  before  entering 
the  commercial  school,  and  which  will  be  developed  in  the  direction  of  his 
specialties  in  the  preparatory  j'ear. 

Mechanics. — It  would  be  an  injury  to  abolish  this  course  in  which  the 
student  learns  so  many  useful  things,  among  others  the  value  of  the 
machines  for  the  transmission  of  motion  ;  the  various  forms  of  engines  ; 
steam,  gas,  water,  air,  electro-magnetic,  etc.  The  elementary'  .study  of 
mechanics  is  as  necessary  as  that  of  physics,  chemistry  or  natural  history. 

Draii'ino;. — The  same  thing  istrue  of  this  as  of  the  preceding  .subject. 
The  study  oif  drawing  finds  its  application  in  the  construction  of  graphical 
figures,  diagrams,  maps,  .sketches,  etc.  Drawing  exercises  the  eye  and  the 
hand  ;  it  develops  a  taste  for  form  ;  it  unites  positive  instruction  to  matters 
of  art,  both  pure  and  indu.strial,  in  whose  production  commerce  largely 
deals  and  which,  therefore,  merchants  must  know  how  to  appreciate. 

History  of  Coninicrcc. — Might  we  not  as  well  entitle  this  heading 
' '  Historj^  of  Civilization  ? ' '  Commerce  has  always  played  a  ver>'  great 
role  in  the  history-  of  the  world.  It  is  that  which  binds  together  men  and 
nations  ;  it  is  that  which  supports  progress  in  all  its  forms  ;  it  is  the  vehicle 
of  ideas  ;  it  is  the  propagator  of  the  beautiful ;  of  the  valuable,  of  the  good 
and  the  useful. 

The  history  of  commerce,  connected  intimately  with  that  of  humanit}', 
gives  elevated  views  of  morals  and  philosophy,  views  which  are  drawn 
from  the  facts  and  which  give  to  the  future  merchants  a  just  idea  of  the 
economic  and  social  importance  of  the  career  to  which  they  have  devoted 
themselves.  Before  becoming  analytic  the  historj-  of  commerce  should  then 
be  treated  in  a  general  way,  as  is  proper,  moreover,  in  other  .subjects  in 
which  instruction  is  given.  One  mu.st  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the 
pupil  logically  feels  the  need  of  knowing  where  one  is  leading  him,  and 
what  purpose  the  subject  serves  in  which  one  is  instructing  him.  Nothing 
is  better  adapted  to  secure  his  attention  than  to  give  him  in  advance  a 
general  idea  of  the  leading  features  of  that  which  one  wishes  him  to  learn. 

Political  Economy. — The  more  carefully  this  subject  is  developed  the 
more  valuable  it  will  be.  Political  economy  is  a  matter  of  controvensy 
to-day  at  almost  all  points,  and  the  schools  ought  to  beware  of  teaching 
their  pupils  di.sputable  doctrines  whether  economic  or  sociali.stic.  The 
professor  should  limit  himself  to  .setting  forth  the  general  facts  of  produc- 
tion, circulation  and  consumption  of  wealth  ;  the  different  systems  of 
exchanges,  and  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  which  appear  according 
to  the  zones  of  industry-  and  commerce.  This  must  sr^ffice.  Commercial 
in.struction  cannot  have  as  its  purpose  the  training  of  dialecticians,  but 
rather  ol  practical  men  who  will  derive  more  advantage  from  the  study  of 
domestic,  industrial  and  commercial  economy,  than  from  the  generalities 
of  political  economy  which  will  remain  matters  of  controversy. 

We  have  explained  elsewhere  that  these  differences  upon  the  point  of 
doctrine  spring  largely  from  the  lack  of  sufficiently  exact  and  complete 
statistics,  a  defect  which  one  must  attribute  to  the  general  insufficiency  of 
practical  accounting.    From  this  it  results  that  even  the  facts  of  production, 


152 

circulation  and  consumption  of  wealth  have  thus  far  escaped  a  complete 
analysis,  which  might  set  them  forth  in  a  clear  light.  Political  and  social 
econom}'  is,  therefore,  a  science  still  full  of  obscurities  and  contradictions, 
and,  consequently,  a  science  the  instruction  in  which  should  be  carefully 
conducted  in  the  schools. 

Morals. — Morals  is  a  complex  of  the  ideas  and  rules  intended  to  direct 
our  actions.  Morals  is  independent  of  religion,  and  is  anterior  to  it. 
Ever>'  man  has  an  idea  of  justice  and  injustice,  of  that  which  is  good  and 
of  that  which  is  bad,  of  that  which  he  ought  to  do  and  of  that  which  he 
ought  not  to  do.  Even  the  savages  have  their  rules  of  family  and  social 
morals.  The  courses  in  the  history  of  commerce,  in  the  various  commer- 
cial and  industrial  branches,  in  political  economy,  and  the  courses  in  law 
and  legislation  imply  morals.  Higher  commercial  instruction  should 
include  sociological  studies  from  which  morals  might  be  scientifically 
separated,  and  not  merely  by  the  exposition  of  its  principles  which  one 
knows  without  reasoning  about  them.  Ethics,  then,  holds  a  large  place 
in  commercial  education.  It  is  a  question  of  principle  ;  it  is  also  a  vital 
question  ;  a  question  of  existence  that  our  commerce  should  be  and  should 
remain  true. 

German  commerce  in  the  efforts  which  it  is  making  to  compete  with 
ours  is  becoming  more  demoralized  from  3-ear  to  year.  Not  onl}-  does  it 
imitate,  falsify  and  use  false  marks,  but  it  cheats  as  to  qualit}^  and,  con- 
sequently, as  to  price.  French  commerce,  on  the  contrarj-,  ought  to  strive 
to  secure  a  reputation  for  excellence  of  its  products,  and  for  honesty  in  its 
transactions,  where  manufacturers  would  be  convinced  of  the  truth  that 
honesty  is  a  real  force,  just  as  order  and  as  the  love  of  labor,  and  that 
without  honesty  the  relations  between  merchants  and  consumers  cannot  be 
permanent. 

Our  retail  commerce,  particularly  that  in  cloth  and  food,  is  pa3'ing 
dearly  at  the  present  moment  for  losing  sight  of  this  truth.  In  fact  our 
shopkeepers  seem  to  be  possessed  of  the  strange  idea  that  they  have  the 
right  to  cheat  because  they  have  paid  for  a  license.  Tell  them  that  com- 
merce is  organized  robber>%  and  they  will  protest  only  for  form's  sake,  if 
they  protest  at  all.  The}'  do  not  revolt  under  a  sense  of  injury.  Their 
conscience  cries  out  to  them  :  ' '  You  rob  whenever  you  make  a  sale,  every 
da}-,  even,'  hour  ;  j-ou  rob  in  quantit}',  quality  and  price  ;  you  teach  your 
wife,  your  children,  your  clerks  to  rob  as  you  do.  Vou  rob  the  poor  as 
well  as  the  rich  ;  a'ou  would  rob  your  own  mother,  and  if  it  is  necessary 
in  order  to  increase  your  profits  that  3'ou  should  adulterate  and  poison, 
you  become  an  adulterator  and  a  poisoner.  All  this  too  without  courage, 
for  you  rob  and  poison  without  running  an}^  risk.  Your  victims  greet  you, 
thank  you,  and  are  inclined  to  think  that  you  are  good  honest  men 
because  you  do  not  rob  them  more.  But  when  tired  of  3'OU  your  patrons 
flee  from  >'ou  on  the  very  first  occasion.  Then  go  ;  run  after  them  into 
the  galleries  of  the  great  estal)lishments  whose  competition  is  ruining  you 
without  mercy  ;  into  the  markets  ;  into  the  bazaars  better  equipped  than 
your  shops,  and  where  one  can  buy  at  l3etter  rates.  Go,  beseech  your 
patrons  ;  try  to  excite  their  ])ity  for  the  lot  of  the  small  shopkeeper  on 
account  of  the  competition  to  which  he  is  exposed — you  will  then  see 
how  they  ridicule  you." 

After  twenty  years  more  at  this  rate  our  small  shopkeepers  will  have 
disappeared  in  Paris  and  in  the  large  cities.    See  to  what  end  piracy  leads  ! 


153 

Let  us  avoid  a  similar  fate  for  our  wholesale  trade.  Let  us  preserve  a 
precious  reputation  for  thorough  honesty,  which  will  sooner  or  later  bring 
back  to  us  the  consumers  who  for  a  time  are  led  away  b}-  the  artifices  of 
our  rivals. 

The  properly  constructed  program  of  commercial  instruction  then 
condemns  such  piracj'  and  constantly  pleads  for  order,  good  faith  and 
honor.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  accounting,  a  science  of  order  in 
accounts  should  be  kept  at  the  vers-  head  of  this  program — accounting — 
the  liistor>'  of  the  facts  of  human  labor  in  numbers  ;  accounting,  hated 
by  the  pirates  who  practice  in  the  dark  and  do  not  love  to  face  their 
robberies  ;  accounting,  whose  accurate  practice  will  save  our  industry  Ijy 
spurring  on  its  progress,  still  hesitating  and  uncertain  for  lack  of  this 
orderly  principle. 

Let  us  go  into  a  great  factory,  where  we  see  exposed  small  objects  cut 
in  bone  and  ivorj-.  And  as  we  go  into  ecstasies  over  the  cheapness  and  the 
fine  workmanship  of  these  objects,  the  merchant  remarks  to  us:  "Here 
are  some  made  in  Switzerland  and  Germany  ;  I  am  going  to  astonish  you. 
Not  only  are  they  more  poorly  made  than  ours,  but  they  cost  more.  This 
is  easy  to  explain  ;  our  Parisian  laborers  are  more  skillful,  do  double  the 
work  in  the  same  time,  and  you  see  that  the  workmanship  is  much  more 
elegant."  Is  not  this  a  typical  example  ?  The  manufacturer  adds  :  "  You 
have  just  organized  a  system  of  accounting  which  has  enabled  me  to 
reform  my  system  of  manufacture.  In  consequence  I  have  diminished  my 
capital ;  reduced  my  business  expenses ;  cut  down  the  useless  general 
charges  ;  increased  the  general  productive  charges  ;  perfected  my  equip- 
ment ;  interested  my  personnel  and  my  laborers  in  the  welfare  of  my 
enterprise,  etc. ,  so  that  to-day  I  find  it  to  my  advantage  to  manufacture  in 
Paris,  and  the  foreigners  purchase  of  me.  People  pretend  that  French 
manufacturers  cannot  stand  competition,  and  give  as  a  reason  that  labor  is 
dearer  here  than  elsewhere.  Ill-will,  routine  and  ignorance  have  much 
more  to  do  with  our  inability.  The  truth  is  that  labor  equalizes  itself  in 
all  industrial  centres.  It  is  to  be  had  cheaply  only  where  it  is  not  in 
demand. 

"  The  truth  is  also  that  we  have  accustomed  ourselves  to  buy  at  high 
prices  whatever  gives  a  large  profit,  without  being  obliged  to  reckon  closely. 
The  truth  is  also  that  whenever  we  wish  we  can  sell  at  as  low  a  price  and 
as  good  a  quality  as  our  competitors.  It  occasioned  great  expense,  I  admit, 
to  change  my  method  of  doing  business,  but  to-day  I  count  myself  happy 
for  having  taken  in  time  a  step  which  saved  me  from  ruin  and  transformed 
my  industr}-.  If  other  manufacturers  would  do  likewise  we  should  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  our  neighbors." 

"You  speak  to  me  of  commercial  morality."  adds  our  interlocutor, 
"  it  is  indeed  a  subject  of  great  importance,  and  upon  which  you  rightly 
insist.  Commercial  morality  is  not  an  illusion  or  a  myth  as  paradoxical  or 
prejudiced  people  may  pretend.  There  is  no  social  department  in  which 
practice  must  conform  to  thorough  honesty  more  than  in  ours.  Even  the 
soldier  does  not  introduce  greater  regularity'  into  his  life  than  the  merchant, 
who  is  worthy  of  the  name,  must  into  his.  No  one  has  more  care  than  he 
to  fulfill  engagements  once  entered  into  and  his  word  once  given.  I  repeat 
it,  we  must  and  can  carry  on  business  in  an  honest  wa>-.  This  is  to  be  our 
force  ;  this  will  be  our  glory  !  Our  city  is  skillful  in  labor  ;  it  has  taste  ; 
it   has  inventiveness — this  is  essential.     When  our  education   in  matters 


154 

relating  to  commerce  and  industr}-  shall  be  well  organized,  and  when  we 
shall  conform  our  lives  to  this  instruction  we  shall  be  invincible." 

Music,  Bodily  Exercise. — Music  is  the  education  of  the  senses,  and 
this  reason  alone  would  determine  us  to  include  it  in  professional  instruc- 
tion. Experience  in  affairs  and  relations  of  life  shows,  moreover,  that  the 
possession  of  an  agreeable  art  is  often  a  valuable  means  of  success,  by 
making  the  circumstances  favorable  to  the  individual,  to  saj-  nothing  of  the 
fact  that  it  is  a  good  presen-ative  from  the  dangers  of  ennui  and  idleness. 
Finally,  in  a  school  where  the  courses  of  study  demand  a  continued  tension 
of  the  mind  toward  science  and  the  positive  subjects  of  commercial  economy, 
nothing  will  relieve  the  pupil  better  than  music,  which  like  drawing  ;  like 
literature  ;  like  the  bodily  exercises  in  the  g^-mnasiura  and  fencing  hall,  enters 
into  the  hygiene  of  a  well-balanced  education.  A  good  system  of  instruc- 
tion must  respond  to  the  various  wants  and  aspirations  of  man.  It  must 
conform  to  the  law  of  contrasts,  without  this  it  would  produce  a  destruction 
of  the  just  balance  in  the  moral  and  physical  health  of  the  pupil,  resulting 
in  lassitude  and  disgust. 

Lessons  in  vocal  and  instrumental  music  might  be  given  in  the 
evening  after  the  stud}-  hour,  from  nine  to  ten  o'clock.  They  could  alter- 
nate with  conversation  hours.  They  should  be  obligatory  like  the  other 
branches  and  gratuitous  like  the  lessons  in  g^-mnastics  and  boxing.  Riding 
lessons,  however,  might  be  optional  and  extra. 

Conmercial  and  Industrial  Visits. — These  visits  should  be  made 
every  Thursday,  not  only  to  the  shops  and  magazines  of  commerce  and 
industr}',  but  also  to  the  various  museums  and  public  expositions.  Such 
lessons  being  a  part  of  the  professional  instruction,  should  be  provided  for 
in  the  formal  regulations,  and  all  schools  without  exception  should  be 
required  to  observ-e  them.  As  it  is  not  possible  to  give  in  a  profitable  manner 
lessons  of  this  sort  to  a  large  number  of  pupils  at  once,  the  various  classes 
would  have  to  be  worked  in  sections,  going  in  different  directions  under  the 
conduct  of  the  special  instructors.  At  the  Commercial  Institute,  where  this 
sj'stem  has  already  been  begun  this  j^ear,  most  of  the  pupils  are  sent  off 
each  Thursday  to  several  different  places.  The  general  application  of  this 
system  would  present  the  advantage  of  var;>-ing  the  lessons  in  technical 
things  according  to  the  previous  preparation  of  the  pupils,  and  by  proceed- 
ing methodically  by  going  from  the  simple  to  the  complex. 

General  Considerations. — It  is  said  that  "  silence  is  golden."  If  this 
proverb  is  true  it  does  not  apply  to  ideas  which  ought  to  be  spoken.  Our 
commercial  schools  have  all  rendered  services  which  are  not  generally 
appreciated  at  their  true  value,  because  of  the  silence  which  one  has 
observed  in  regard  to  it  up  to  the  present  time,  and  which  we  believe  it  is 
our  duty  to  break,  if  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  serve  by  our  modest 
efforts  a  cau.se  which  .seems  to  us  intimately  connected  with  the  future 
pro.sperity  of  our  countr}\  Making  all  due  concessions,  the  equipment  of 
the  French  schools  of  commerce  is  not  inferior  in  any  respect  to  that  of  the 
other  .schools  of  general  or  special  instruction.  If  one  considers  the 
efforts  thus  far  put  forth  by  them,  the  difficulties  of  every  sort  which  they 
have  surmounted,  and  the  results  which  they  have  obtained  in  spite  of 
these  difTicuUics,  one  nuist  be  convinced  tliat  the  evil  days  of  commercial 
instruction  arc  ai)proaching  their  end,  and  that  pul)lic  favor  will  soon 
replace  the  indifference,  as  inconceivable  as  it  is  unju.st. 


155 

Does  not  superior  commercial  instruction  answer  to  the  wants  of  all 
social  positions,  except  possibly  the  so-called  "literary  professions,"  and 
indeed  maj'  we  not  say  of  them  ?  For  the  lawyer,  the  magistrate,  the 
public  functionary,  the  councillor  find  it  to  their  advantage  to  know  the 
theory  and  practice  of  business.  The  employes  in  our  commerce  and 
industr}',  merchants,  manufacturers,  bankers,  brokers,  exchangers,  farm- 
ers, that  is  to  say  all  the  active  personnel  of  our  interior  and  foreign  com- 
merce, ought  they  not  to  have  this  instruction  in  preference  to  any  other  ? 
As  to  the  families  of  fortune,  who  do  not  destine  their  children  to  com- 
mercial or  industrial  business,  what  better  education  could  they  gi\-e  them 
than  that  which  comprises  in  its  curriculum  the  science  of  order  and 
economy — knowledge  necessar)^  to  the  preservation  of  a  fortune.  Practi- 
cal arithmetic,  accounting,  living  languages,  the  elements  of  civil  and 
commercial  law,  and  the  many  other  subjects,  are  not  these  branches 
more  necessary  to  the  modern  mind  than  Latin,  Greek,  ancient  histor>-, 
etc.  ?  What  then  is  lacking  in  this  economic  education  to  make  it  in 
demand  ? 

It  lacks  only  the  sanction  which  crowns  university  studies.  It  is  not 
sufficient  to  open  the  doors  of  entrance  into  the  schools  of  commerce,  one 
must  also  open  the  doors  of  exit.  Nothing  further  can  be  done  until 
the  legitimate  demands  in  favor  of  economic  instruction  shall  be  met  and 
it  shall  be  put  on  a  par  with  classical  instruction. 


156 
C. 

HIGHER  COMMERCIAL  INSTRUCTION  IN  GERMANY. 

Germany  has,  in  many  respects,  the  most  fnlly  developed  system  of 
commercial  schools  of  lower  and  higher  grade  in  Europe.  As  the  subject 
of  this  work  relates  primarih-  to  commercial  high  schools,  it  will  not  be 
necessary-  to  do  more  than  mention  the  large  number  of  primar}-  and  second- 
ary schools  of  commercial  instruction  to  be  found  within  the  limits  of  the 
German  Empire.  The  work  by  Harry  Schmitt  *  gives  a  verj'  full  account 
of  the  present  extent  of  commercial  education  in  Germany.  A  statistical 
table,  referring  to  the  same  subject  and  published  in  Glasser's  work,t  brings 
the  data  down  to  the  school-year  1892-93. 

It  appears  from  these  works  that  there  are  some  fiftj'-five  schools  in  the 
German  Empire  which  may  be  classed  under  the  head  of  commercial  high 
schools,  with  a  total  of  5681  pupils.  Many  of  these  are  supported  bj- 
Merchant  Guilds,  a  number  by  the  cities  and  a  few  b)^  the  State.  The 
commercial  classes  and  commercial  courses  organized  in  connection  with 
the  real  schools  are,  of  course,  supported  by  the  State  or  cit)^  respectively. 

In  Germany,  at  a  very  early  date,  the  better  class  of  commercial  high 
schools  obtained  for  their  graduates  the  privileges  of  the  one-year  military 
exemption  law.  This  had  a  ver>'  beneficial  influence  upon  the  attendance 
at  these  schools,  and  the  fact  that  no  discrimination,  in  this  respect,  is  made 
against  commercial  high  schools  has,  undoubtedly,  contributed  very  largely 
to  the  success  of  these  institutions. 

THE  PUBLIC  COMMERCIAL  INSTITUTE  AT  LEIPSIC. 

(Oeffentliche  Handeh-Lehranstalt  zu  Leipzig.) 

Of  all  these  .schools,  the  Public  Commercial  Institute  at  Leipsic  is, 
perhaps,  for  our  purpose,  the  best  type,  and  as  it  is  the  oldest  of  the  existing 
schools  it  presents,  to  a  certain  extent,  a  picture  of  the  development  of  this 
branch  of  instruction  in  the  German  Empire. 

This  celebrated  institute  owes  its  origin  to  the  Merchant  Guild  of 
Leipsic,  a  corporation  which  has  existed  since  the  3'ear  1479,  and  whose 
numerous  special  privileges  were  ended  w^ith  the  introduction  of  commercial 
liberty  into  the  kingdom  of  Saxony  in  1861.  In  1867  this  corporation 
became  an  open  society.  Shortly  before  this  time  a  ministerial  ordinance 
had  established  the  chambers  of  commerce  for  the  purpose  of  representing 
commercial  interests.  +  * 

Five  of  these  chambers  of  commerce  have  been  established  in  Saxony. 
There  was  nothing  more,  therefore,  for  this  ancient  Merchant  Guild  of 
Eeipsic  to  do,  except  to  watch  over  the  interests  of  the  schools  of  commerce  ; 
to  help,  with  the  considerable  fortune  which  it  po.ssessed,  certain  needy 
merchants,  and  to  a.ssist  other  \'arious  public  enterpri.ses.  It  devoted  itself 
to  this  useful  mission,  but  as  no  new  memljcrs  could  be  chosen  the  extinc- 
tion of  this  guild  was  only  a  matter  of  time,  and  in  con.sequence  of  an 
agreement  between  this  guild  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  Leipsic  the 

*  "  Das  iaii/mdnnischf  FnrtbUdutigs-Schuhivsrn  Deutschlands."     Seine  gegenwartige  Gestaltung 
vnd  Auidehnuttg     lierlin.  /Sr)2      Verlag  von  Karl  Sicgtsmund. 

■f'Das  cnnimncielU   ftildungszvesen   in    Ostcrreich-UngamV     By   Franz    Glasser.      Wien    and 
Leipzig.     A I  ft  cd  Holder,  /fyj 

I  Leauley  i  "  £col^s  de  Commerce,"  p.  480 


157 

school  became  the  property  of  the  latter  body  and  is  supported  by  the  same, 
using  in  the  first  instance  the  income  of  the  funds  which  belonged  to  the 
former  Merchant  Guild. 

The  honor  of  persuading  the  Merchant  Guild  to  found  in  1831  a  prac- 
tical and  theoretical  School  of  Connnerce,  belonged  to  Charles  Lebrecht 
Hammer,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Hammer  &  vSclimidt.  The  Connnercial 
Institute  of  Leipsic  was  not,  it  is  true,  the  first  school  of  this  sort  estal^lished 
in  German3^  A  man  named  Busch  had  established,  at  his  own  expense,  an 
Academy  of  Commerce  in  Hamburg,  toward  the  close  of  the  last  centur>% 
and  this  academy  had  prospered  for  some  time.  The  Merchant  Guild  of 
Gotha  had  a  school  for  apprentices  in  commercial  houses  from  the  year  1 8 1 8 , 
and  finally,  in  several  of  the  larger  cities  of  Germany  there  were  private 
schools  of  this  sort. 

The  Merchant  Guild  of  Leipsic,  then,  cannot  claim  the  credit  of  having 
been  the  first  to  establish  such  a  school,  but  it  was  the  first  in  Germany,  we 
believe,  to  open  a  professional  school,  in  which  they  proposed  to  train  future 
merchants  who  desired  to  prepare  themselves  for  business  by  appropriate 
theoretical  studies. 

While  the  common  run  of  merchants  declared,  at  that  time,  as  generally 
in  France,  against  this  sort  of  preparation  in  a  school,  the  Merchant  Guild 
of  Leipsic  recognized,  at  that  time,  and  emphasized  the  necessity  of  raising 
the  level  of  special  studies  for  those  youth  who  were  destined  for  commercial 
pursuits,  and  the  further  necessity  of  preparing  the  way  for  practice  by  a 
study  of  the  theory.  Such  had  also  been  the  object,  as  we  have  seen  in 
another  place,  of  the  men  who  established  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce 
in  Paris  in  1820. 

The  foundation  of  the  Institute  of  Leipsic  w^as  assisted  b}-  the  Saxon 
government.  King  Anthony  showed  himself  favorable  to  the  enterprise 
and  contributed  from  his  private  purse.  In  1835,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
granted  a  subsidy  of  1500  German  dollars;  this  subsidy  is  continued  at 
present. 

One  fortunate  circumstance  contributed  to  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Com- 
mercial Institute  of  Leipsic.  Its  first  director,  David  August  Schiebe,  was 
a  man  of  great  knowledge,  of  large  experience,  and  at  the  same  time  of  a 
very  energetic  character.  He  gave  to  the  establishment  an  excellent  organi- 
zation. The  severe  discipline  which  he  introduced,  and  the  success  which 
followed  it,  gave  the  school  a  great  prestige. 

David  August  Schiebe  was  bom  at  Strasburg,  in  Alsace,  on  the  second 
of  October,  1779.  He  pursued  his  studies  in  the  lyceum  of  this  city,  and 
was  then  entered  as  an  apprentice  in  a  commercial  house  of  his  native  place. 
He  was  later  a  clerk  at  Strasburg,  and  from  1804  to  1807  was  employed  in 
a  banking  house  at  Frankfort.  In  1807,  he  returned  to  Strasburg,  and 
entered  the  house  of  Franck  &  Co.  In  his  leisure  hours  he  occupied  himself 
with  literary  work,  and  gave  lessons  to  )-oung  merchants.  In  18 17,  he 
gathered  a  certain  number  of  instructors  about  him,  and  his  enterprise 
seemed  upon  the  point  of  becoming  a  school  of  connnerce.  But  the  attempt 
was  premature,  and  he  was  obliged  to  close  the  institution  after  two  years. 
He  then  devoted  himself  to  the  direction  of  industrial  entei"prises,  and  acted 
as  agent  in  most  varied  commercial  affairs.  In  18 19,  he  published,  in 
French,  his  theoretical  and  practical  treatise  on  ' '  Bills  of  Exchange  ;  "  a 
work  which  was  followed  in  1825  by  his  "  Commercial  Correspondence." 


158 

Some  years  after  this,  the  school  at  Leipsic  was  opened.  The  director- 
ship of  the  school  was  offered  to  him,  and  Schiebe  hastened  to  accept  a 
position  which  enabled  him  to  spread  his  ideas,  and  to  establish  a  sj'steni  of 
instruction,  the  necessity  of  which  he  had  been  one  of  the  first  to  recognize. 

The  necessary  textbooks  for  this  instruction  were  not  at  hand  ;  Schiebe 
prepared  them.  His  works  on  ' '  Commercial  Arithmetic, "  "  Bookkeeping, ' ' 
"  The  Science  of  the  Counting-House, "  exercised  a  wide  influence  upon  the 
development  of  commercial  studies  in  Germany.  Thej-  appeared  in  a  large 
number  of  editions  during  his  life  and  after  his  death.  "Even  to-day," 
says  Kippenberg,  formerly  director  of  the  school  at  Gera,  "  Schiebe' s  books 
are  the  best  to  be  found  in  this  branch  of  instruction." 

After  having  directed  with  great  success,  and  in  what  maj'  be  called  a 
truly  practical  manner,  the  school  of  L,eipsic  down  to  the  year  1850,  Schiebe 
retired  from  the  management  and  returned  to  Strasburg,  his  native  city, 
where  he  died  the  following  year.  His  talents,  his  experience  and  his 
professional  loyalt>'  render  his  memory  dear  to  all  his  former  pupils.  For 
his  indefatigable  devotion  and  for  the  didactic  works  which  he  left  behind 
him,  the  school  at  lycipsic,  and  in  gener^il  the  professors  of  commercial 
instruction  in  Germany,  owe  him  undying  gratitude. 

The  successor  of  Schiebe  from  1850  to  1862  was  Alexander  Steinhouse. 
After  having  been  employed  for  twenty-seven  j^ears  in  the  greatest  com- 
mercial houses  at  Breslau,  Venice  and  Tampico,  he  traveled  in  France, 
Gennany,  America  and  the  Indies,  and  closed  his  career  as  a  merchant  at 
Riga.  From  that  time  on  he  devoted  his  activity  to  the  study  of  the  com- 
mercial sciences,  and  for  ten  years  was  professor  in  various  public  and 
private  schools,  and  at  last  at  Moscow.  He  devoted  himself  to  the  writing 
of  pedagogical  works,  and  published  a  Commercial  Arithmetic  in  Russia. 
Under  his  direction  the  Commercial  Institute  of  Leipsic  improved  its 
methods  of  instruction,  and  the  number  of  its  pupils  went  on  increasing. 
In  1862  Steinhouse  resigned  his  position  as  director,  and  went  to  establish 
a  school  of  commerce  at  Breslau. 

From  1863  to  1878,  the  director  of  the  Commercial  Institute  of  Leipsic 
was  Dr.  Karl  Gustav  Odennan.  He  had  been  professor  in  this  school  from 
1839  to  1854,  and  was,  consequently,  fully  acquainted  with  everything 
relating  to  it.  He  had,  moreover,  shown  his  ability  for  directing  work  by 
his  a.ssistance  in  the  founding  and  directing  of  a  commercial  school  at 
Dresden.  Under  his  direction,  the  school  of  Leipsic  preser\-ed,  in  general, 
its  former  character,  but  it  experienced  numerous  innovations  in  the  scope 
of  its  instruction — innovations  rendered  necessary  by  the  new  school  law 
of  the  Kingdom  of  vSaxony,  and  by  the  educational  reforms  in  Germany. 
We  shall  descril)e  these  changes  more  fully  below. 

Dr.  Oderman  also  took  up  the  revision  of  the  pedagogical  works  b}- 
Schiebe,  wliich  remained,  .so  to  speak,  the  classical  works  in  this  school. 
In  co-operation  with  Dr.  Feller,  Oderman  wrote  a  Commercial  Arithmetic, 
whicli  has  been  a  great  .success  in  the  commercial  world,  and  which  is  now 
in  its  fifteenth  edition.  Oderman  resigned  in  1878,  and  left  the  school  with 
the  reputation  of  an  experienced  master,  of  a  .scientific  trainer  of  youth, 
and  an  energetic  director.  In  recognition  of  these  .services,  the  King  of 
Saxony,  from  whom  he  had  already  obtained  .several  di.stinctions,  accorded 
him  tlie  title  of  Professor. 

Charles  Wolfrum,  who  succeeded  him  in  1878  as  director  of  the  .school, 
had  been  profe.s.sor  of  the  connnercial  sciences  at  the  Connnercial  School 


159 

of  Augsburg  from  185 1  to  1862  ;  director  of  the  school  at  Gotha  from 
1862  to  1872,  and  director  of  the  School  of  Commerce  at  Augsburg  from 
1872  to  1878.  He  still  holds  the  position  of  director  at  the  Commercial 
Institute  at  Leipsic. 

We  shall  have  occasion  later  to  speak  more  in  detail  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  institute,  but  to  give  a  general  notion  of  its  development,  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  note  here  that  from  185 1  to  1886  there  were  5827 
pupils  in  the  Department  for  Apprentices  ;  5002  pupils  in  the  Higher 
Department ;  322  pupils  in  the  Professional  Course  ;  making  a  total  of 
11,151  pupils  in  fifty-five  years,  or  an  average  of  about  202  pupils  a  year. 

The  Conuncrcial  Institute  of  lyeipsic  had  in  1884-85,  472  pupils; 
1885-86,  494  pupils;  1890-91,  620  pupils;  1891-92,  662  pupils;  1892-93, 
681  pupils. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DIVISION   OF  THE    INSTITUTE;    GOVERNMENT;    FEES. 

The  Commercial  Institute  of  Leipsic,  as  noted  above,  has  been,  since 
the  t\vent\-first  of  December,  1886,  under  the  control  of  the  Leipsic 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  It  is  under  immediate  supervision  of  the  City 
Council  of  Leipsic,  and  under  the  general  supervision  of  the  Royal  Ministr>^ 
of  the  Interior.  The  school  board,  which  has  immediate  charge  of  the 
school,  is  elected  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  consists  of  six  members, 
elected  for  a  term  of  six  years,  one-half  going  out  at  the  end  of  each  three 
3'ears. 

The  purpose  of  the  school,  according  to  the  Statutes  published  in  1888, 
is  a  two-fold  one.  One  is  to  give  the  commercial  apprentices  an  opportunitj' 
to  obtain  the  necessary  general  education  and  special  training  necessarj^  for 
their  calling  ;  secondly,  to  give  the  desirable  scientific  training  to  those 
3'outh  who  wish  to  devote  themselves  to  commerce  and  similar  careers. 
The  school  is,  accordingly,  divided  into  three  divisions.  F'irst,  the 
Apprentice  Department,  which  is  the  continuation  school  for  apprentices 
actually  engaged  in  commercial  houses,  and  whose  pupils  are  relieved  from 
the  necessity  of  visiting  the  city  continuation  schools.  Secondly,  the  Higher 
Department,  which  is  authorized  to  grant  a  certificate,  conferring  the 
privileges  of  the  one-year  military  serx'ice  law  upon  those  pupils  who 
complete  the  course  in  this  division.  Thirdly,  the  Professional  Course, 
whose  purpose  it  is  to  acquaint  3'oung  men  who  have  already  acquired  by 
study  along  other  lines  the  degree  of  education  necessary  to  secure  the 
privileges  of  the  one-year  exemption  law,  wHk  the  general  theory  of  com- 
merce. 

PROVISIONS    RELATING  TO  THE   VARIOUS    DEPARTMENTS   OF  THE  SCHOOL. 

First:  Apprentice  Department. — Every  apprentice  of  a  Leipsic  com- 
mercial house  can  be  admitted  in  the  Apprentice  Department,  upon  .showing 
his  fitness  to  take  up  the  work.  Rach  candidate  must  pa.ss  an  entrance 
examination.  In  order  to  be  admitted  into  the  third  or  lowest  class,  it  is 
necessary  that  the  pupil  shall  have  completed  an  elementary  school.  To  be 
admitted  to  the  second  class,  he  must  show  that  he  is  acquainted  with  the 
subjects  taught  in  the  third  class.     Pupils  can  be  admitted  onh'  upon  the 


100 


request  of  the  head  of  a  commercial  house,  who  therebj-  becomes  responsi- 
ble for  the  tuition  of  the  pupil.  The  course  of  study  extends  over  three 
years,  including  ten  hours  a  week,  divided  as  follows  : 

SUBJECTS. 


German 

English 

Frencli 

Commercial  Arithmetic  .  . 
Commercial  Science  .  .  . 
Office  work  and  bookkeeping 

Correspondence 

Geography     .... 
Penmanship       


Third  Class. 

Hours. 

2 


Second  Class. 
Hours. 
I 
2 
2 
2 
I 
I 


First  Class. 

Hours. 

I 

2 

2 
2 

I 
I 
I 


Total, lo  ID  ID 

The  tuition  is  eighty  marks  a  year.  The  hours  of  instruction  are  from 
seven  to  nine  in  the  morning  ;  parallel  divisions  attend  from  two  to  foitr  in 
the  afternoon. 

Secojid:  Higher  Division. — This  division  has  a  three- 5'ear  course.  The 
year  begins  at  Easter  time  ;  pupils  are  admitted  at  other  times,  only  upon 
showing  that  they  can  take  up  the  work  with  profit  b}'  a  special  examina- 
tion. Pupils  must  be  at  least  fourteen  3'ears  of  age.  They  must  pass  an 
entrance  examination  in  German,  French,  Geography,  History-  and  Arith- 
metic. 

The  curriculum  embraces  the  following  subjects  : 


German 

English 

French 

Mathematics 

Commercial  Arithmetic 

Physics 

Mechanical  Technology 

Chemistry 

Study  of  Products  .    .    . 

Geography 

History 

Commercial  Science  .    . 
Commercial  Law     .    .    . 

Office  Work 

Correspondence  .... 

Bookkeeping 

Political  Economy  .    .    . 

Penmanship      

Drawing 

Athletics 


ird  Class. 
Hours. 

Second  Class. 
Hours. 

F:r<:t  Class 
Hours. 

4 

5 
5 
3 
5 
3 

3 
4 
4 
3 
3 
2 

3 
4 
4 
4 

2 

— 

2 

2 
I 
2 

2 

2 

2 

2 
2 

2 
I 

— 

2 

2 

3 
2 

3 

2 

2 

2 

— 

2 

2 

2 

35 


36 


Second  Class. 

Hours. 

2 


Total 36 

Instruction  is  also  given  as  optional  work  in  : 

Third  Class. 
Hours. 

Italian      — 

Spanish — 

Stenography      2 

For  foreigners  in  all  the  classes  of  this  higher  division  the  tuition  is 
360  marks  a  year  ;  for  natives  of  the  empire,  240  marks  in  the  third  class  ; 
300  in  the  .second,  and  360  in  the  first.  A  matriculation  fee  of  10  marks  is 
also  required. 


First  Class. 
Hours. 

2 
2 
I 


161 

Third'.  Professional  Course— As  this  is  the  most  advaiicetl  class  in 
the  school,  only  those  pupils  are  admitted  who  hold  a  certificate  entitling 
them  to  the  privileges  of  the  one-year  militar>^  service  law,  or  who  have 
completed  an  equivalent  course.  This  department  is  divided  into  two 
sub-divisions:  an  Apprentice  Department  with  ten  hours  a  week,  and  a 
regular  students'  department  with  thirty-four  hours  a  week.  The  course  in 
both  cases  covers  one  year. 

I.    REGULAR   students'    DIVISION. 

CURRICULUM  : 

•  ■     -*-  "■'  ""  ""  Hours  per  week.. 

English 5 

French 5 

Spanish      ^ 

Commercial  Arithmetic 4- 

Commercial  Legislation 2 

Bookkeeping 5 

Correspondence 2 

Political  Economy      .> 

Coumiercial  History 2 

Study  of  Products 2 

Penmanship     2 

Total  .    .     • 34 

II.    APPRENTICE    DIVISION. 

Into  this  course  only  such  apprentices  are  admitted  as  hold  the  certifi- 
cate mentioned  above. 

CURRICULUM  : 

Hours  per  week. 

English  Correspondence 2 

French  Correspondence   ...        2 

Mercantile  Arithmetic 2 

Commercial  Legislation I 

Bookkeeping        2 

Commercial  Science i 

Total • lo 

Instruction  is  given  between  the  hours  of  seven  and  nine  in  the 
morning. 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  institution  is  organized  so  as  to  answer  the 
wants  of  a  commercial  community  in  a  most  complete  way.  For  thase 
young  men  who  have  had  a  good  preliminar\'  preparation,  such  as  is 
involved  in  the  completion  of  what  we  may  call  an  ordinary  English  high 
school,  and  who  have  gone  directly  from  that  into  business,  there  is  found 
an  opportunity  in  the  apprentice  division  of  the  Professional  Course  to  get 
assistance  in  the  special  or  technical  stud}-  of  the  business  in  which  they 
are  engaged.  Tlio.se  who  are  able  to  spend  another  year,  after  completing 
such  a  cotirse  as  is  mentioned,  find  in  the  Regular  Students'  Division  of  the 
Professional  Course  an  oj^portunity  to  spend  another  year  in  preparing 
themselves  somewhat  more  specially  before  entering  upon  a  business  career. 
This  latter  course  corresponds  ver>'  closely  to  the  graduate  course  descril)ed 
in    cotmection   with    the    Prague    and  Vienna    Academies   of    Commerce. 

The  second  or  higher  division  of  this  school  corresponds  ver\-  closely 
to  what  we  should  call  an  ordinary  commercial  high  school,  with  a  coui"se 
of  three  years.     It  is  evident  that  the  pupil  attending  this  department  miLSt 
give  his  entire  time  to  the  work  of  the  school. 
II 


162 

In  the  first,  or  Apprentice  Department,  an  opportunity  is  offered  for 
those  clerks  and  apprentices  in  business  houses,  who  have  had  the  advan-" 
tage  of  an  elementary  school  education,  to  carry  on  systematic  work, 
suited  to  their  age  and  preliminan,'  training,  at  the  same  time  that  they 
are  engaged  in  commercial  houses.  It  will  be  noted,  as  stated  above,  that 
the  instruction  in  the  Apprentice  Department,  both  higher  and  lower,  is 
given  between  the  hours  of  seven  and  nine  in  the  morning,  so  that  pupils 
are  able  to  attend  these  courses  while  actually  engaged  in  business.  It 
will  be  interesting  to  note  the  distribution  of  students  among  the  various 
departments. 

In  1892-93  out  of  681  pupils,  454  were  in  the  first,  or  Apprentice 
Division,  taking  the  ten  hour  a  week  course  through  the  three  years  ;  155 
were  in  the  Higher  Division  ;  and  sevent>'-two  were  in  the  Professional 
Course,  of  whom  thirty-seven  were  in  the  Regular  Division  and  thirty- 
five  in  the  Apprentice  Division. 

The  second,  or  Higher  Division,  corresponds  to  the  regular  course  in 
the  Academies  of  Prague  and  Vienna.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  first,  or 
elementary  division,  has  by  far  the  largest  number  of  pupils,  and  to  judge 
from  the  growing  number  in  this  department,  it  answers  a  real  want 
in  a  commercial  community  like  that  of  Leipsic.  In  the  annual  report  of 
the  Commercial  Institute  for  1892-93,  the  director  expresses  himself  as 
follows  upon  one  or  two  important  matters  connected  with  the  curriculum 
of  the  school : 

' '  Wholesale  and  retail  trade  are  as  different  in  their  methods  of 
work  as  the  ordinary'  work  of  a  mechanic  and  that  in  a  large  factory. 
Ill  training  youth,  therefore,  for  one  or  the  other  of  these  callings, 
the  demands  to  be  made  are  very  different.  To  do  good  work  in 
retail  trade,  one  needs  less  comprehensiveness  of  knowledge  than 
skill  and  reliability  in  the  operations  of  simple  business  transactions. 
The  curriculum  of  an  ordinar)'  public  school  gives  the  apprentice  in 
retail  trade,  therefore,  a.  satisfactor>'  preliminary"  training.  If  to  this 
be  added  certain  instruction,  in  a  properly  organized  professional 
school,  the  young  pupil  receives  a  scientific  basis  upon  which  the 
more  ambitious  of  them  can  successfully  build.  And  it  wiU  remain 
for  experience  to  bring  their  technical  skill  to  its  highest  degree. 

"  But  this  course  of  study  is  ver^-  insufficient  for  a  young  man 
who  wishes  to  occupy  a  more  important  position  in  the  field  of  whole- 
sale trade.  It  is  a  great  fault  in  our  commercial  education  that  we 
are  trj'ing  to  reach  b}^  a  simple  supplementary  course,  such  as  that 
given  in  our  first  division,  the  same  result  as  can  be  obtained  only  upon 
the  basis  of  thorough  preliminarv'  training.  This  is  sometimes  done 
from  ignorance,  and  sometimes  from  lack  of  resources.  The  large 
dealer  has  no  less  important  functions  to  perform  in  a  community 
than  the  educated  individuals  of  other  cla.sses,  and  he  can  fulfill  them 
satisfactorily,  only  if  he  is  willing  to  give  as  much  time  and  care  to 
his  education  as  the  members  of  other  classes  are  willing  to  give  to 
theirs.  We  must  allow  to  each  youth  an  opportunity  to  obtain  a 
well-rounded,  general  education  first  of  all,  and  then  before  entering 
commercial  life,  a  careful  course  in  the  commercial  sciences  and  lan- 
guages. Instruction  <;f  such  im]K)rtance  cannot  be  carried  on  as  a 
mere  side  issue,  before  or  after  business  hours.  It  can  only  accom- 
l)lish    its    proper    result    in    case    the     pupils    have    a    satisfactory 


163 

preliminary  training,  are  of  the  proper  age,  and  devote  their  entire  time 
to  the  school.  Such  supplementary  or  continuation  instruction,  as  is 
given  in  our  first  department,  is  and  can  be  only  a  temporary- 
resource.  The  object  of  this  department  must  remain,  therefore,  so 
long  as  present  conditions  prevail,  the  education  of  the  mercantile 
middle  class  for  the  work  of  retail  trade.  Nothing  more  can  be 
accomplished  b}'  this  method  of  instruction. 

' '  The  curriculum  covers  three  years  of  ten  hours  a  week  ;  the 
subjects  are  indicated  above.  Very  little  is  demanded  of  the  pupils  in 
the  way  of  work  at  home.  It  is  fortunate  that  the  instruction  can  be 
given  between  the  hours  of  seven  and  nine  in  the  morning,  or  two  and 
four  in  the  afternoon,  while  body  and  mind  are  still  fresh.  Kvening 
work  along  this  line  is  almost  useless. 

' '  Tlie  attendance  in  this  first  division  has  increased  from  year  to 
year,  a  proof  that  its  advantages  are  coming  to  be  generally  recognized 
by  our  mercantile  clas.ses.  In  consequence  of  this  growing  attendance, 
it  has  been  possible  to  divide  the  pupils  into  divisions  according  to  their 
preliminar}'  training.  Those  who  are  better  prepared  are  put  into  the 
same  divisions,  and  the  instruction  can  be  carried  somewhat  further 
and  with  better  success  than  in  the  other  divisions.  As  a  rule,  about 
seventy  to  .sevent>'-five  per  cent  of  the  pupils  who  enter  have  completed 
the  curriculum  of  the  public  school  {what  jve  in  the  United  States 
should  eall  the  oraniniar  sekool^  the  others  have  attended  the  lower 
classes  of  higher  schools.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  about  one-fourth 
of  the  pupils  who  enter  this  department  complete  the  three-year  course. 
At  the  close  of  the  second  year  most  of  these  pupils  have  reached  an 
age  when  they  are  no  longer  required  to  attend  a  continuation  school, 
and  it  is  seldom  that  their  own  desire,  or  the  wish  of  parents  or  ma.sters, 
is  strong  enough  to  persuade  them  to  complete  the  course."  * 
In  regard  to  the  Professional  Course,  the  director  makes  the  following 
remarks  in  the  same  report : 

"  It  has  become  more  and  more  evident  every  j'car  that  the  busi- 
ness circles  of  our  own  and  other  cities  are  coming  to  recognize  the 
importance  of  our  Professional  Course  (third  department  of  the  insti- 
tute). Well-known  manufacturers  and  merchants  both  at  home  and 
abroad  are  sending  their  sons  to  this  course,  in  consequence  of  the 
favorable  opinions  of  former  graduates.  We  have  received,  and  are 
receiving,  from  day  to  day,  very  flattering  letters  from  former  gradu- 
ates and  from  employers.  Indeed,  it  would  be  a  cause  for  surprise  if  a 
year's  earnest  .study  of  foreign  languages  and  the  various  branches  of 
commercial  science  .should  not  have  a  permanent  influence  upon  the 
intellectual  development  of  the  pupils.  The  extraordinary  ability  of 
the  young  German  merchant,  who  is  coming  to  be  recognized  in  foreign 
countries,  though  in  many  cases  with  great  imwillingness  and  with 
considerable  envy,  is  no  result  of  routine  work.  It  is  the  consequence 
of  careful  and  thorougli  training  of  our  young  people.  Our  mercantile 
classes  should,  therefore.  deri\-e  new  courage  from  this  fact  ;  they 
should  rather  make  man>-  steps  forward  than  a  single  one  backward. 

*  In  the  Kingdom  of  Saxony  pupils  having  completed  the  ordinary  school  course  to  the  close  of 
the  fourteenth  year,  are  required  to  attend  continuation  schools,  held  either  during  the  evening  or  on 
Svuiday,  or  before  or  after  business  hours,  for  a  longer  period  of  two  years  and  as  the  Apprentice 
Departilient  of  the  Commercial  Institute  of  I.eipsic  has  been  acceptedby  the  school  authorities  as  a 
cotitinuatiou  school,  one  finds  in  this  an  explanation  of  the  growing  attendance  in  this  department. 


164 

The>-  should  be  careful  not  to  save  time  and  money  at  the  wrong  place. 
A  nation  whose  commercial  relations  are  extending  throughout  all 
continents,  whose  mercantile  and  naval  marine  is  well  equipped  for  the 
ver>'  best  ser\'ice,  whose  banner  waves  over  many  colonies,  needs 
merchants  of  insight,  financiers  of  wisdom  and  inventive  and  enterpris- 
ing organizers. ' ' 


CHAPTER  III. 

PROGRAM    AND    METHODS. 

Leautey,  in  his  excellent  work,  so  frequently  referred  to  in  this  report, 
also  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Institute  of  Leipsic  has  taken  special 
pains  to  divide  and  sub-divide  its  instruction  so  as  to  adapt  it  in  the  best 
manner  possible  to  the  wants  of  its  pupils.  The  business  of  the  retail 
dealer  does  not  necessitate  such  special  and  comprehensive  knowledge  as  that 
of  the  wholesale  dealer.  The  small  merchant  can  only  rarely  tuni  to  a 
profitable  purpose  in  his  sphere  of  action,  the  knowledge  of  foreign  languages, 
of  mathematics,  of  algebra,  etc.  He  needs,  however,  to  be  well  ac(j[uainted 
with  the  goods  themselves,  to  be  versed  in  mercantile  calculation,  accounting, 
etc.  The  Institute  of  Leipsic  has  then  established  an  elementary  training, 
and  a  more  advanced  training  for  young  men  who  wish  to  enter  the  v/hole- 
sale  trade. 

In  Germany,  the  youth  of  limited  means  generally  enter  business 
immediately  upon  quitting  the  elementary  school.  Those  who  take  up 
commerce  as  a  career  complete  their  school  training  in  a  continuation  school 
during  the  three  or  four  years  of  apprenticeship,  through  which  they  must 
pass.  They  are  required  by  law  to  follow  the  courses  of  these  schools  while 
serving  their  apprenticeship.  Under  these  conditions,  it  is  no  great  disad- 
vantage for  them  to  enter  at  an  early  age  upon  business  life,  which  trains 
them  in  the  handling  of  goods,  in  the  proper  conduct  toward  their  customers, 
in  bookkeeping,  and  in  applying  the  knowledge  which  they  gain  in  the 
school. 

There  are  also  the  studies  preparatory  for  more  advanced  positions, 
studies  in  which  the  Institute  of  Leipsic  gives  by  far  the  largest  share  to 
theory,  contrary  to  the  method  applied  in  the  l)eginning  by  Schiebe.  This 
development,  a  work  of  time,  of  circumstances,  and  of  the  difficulties  which 
lay  in  the  way  of  de\'eloping  a  suitable  personnel  to  give  the  instruction,  is 
worthy  of  careful  study.  Schiebe  laid  down  a  program  of  study  which 
shows  his  preference  for  ])ractical  work  ;  instruction  in  the  .science  of  com- 
merce begiiming  in  the  second  cla.ss,  four  hours  a  week.  Schiebe  hinuself 
gave  this  course,  following  the  theor)-  of  connncrcial  science  by  Jacob  and 
his  own  works  u]K)n  the  subject ;  he  thought  that  the  pupil  would  arrive  at 
a  better  understanding  of  connncrcial  affairs  if  he  actually  went  through  the 
same  i)r(xess  as  the  merchant  in  his  office. 

"This  method  is  empiric,"  .said  Dr.  Aymerick,  "'it  offers,  it  is 
true,  a  certain  advantage,  it  trains  the  pupils  in  acquiring  a  certain 
facility  and  external  poli.sh,  but  the  real  knowledge  and  training  which 
is  the  essential  ])art  camiot  be  acquired  by  such  an  unscientific  methtHi." 


165 

Certainly,  we  answer,  practical  lessons  ought  not  to  precede  theoretical 
lessons.  But  after  the  theor>'  has  been  set  forth,  these  practical  lessons  may 
come  in  to  complete  the  training  of  the  pupil  and  to  enable  him  to  derive 
the  fullest  advantage  from  the  instruction  in  the  school.  It  is,  however, 
very  essential  that  these  practical  lessons  shall  be  well  given.  It  is  this 
upon  which  we  have  insisted  in  our  plan  upon  the  reorganization  of  commer- 
cial instruction.      (Leautey.) 

"At  the  school  at  I^eipsic,"  continues  our  correspondent,  "  many 
years  passed  l^efore  we  had  textbooks  treating  of  the  various  branches 
of  commercial  science  in  a  manner  simple  and  clear.      It  was  only  as 
the  result  of  long  development  that  we  came  to  see  that  the  simple 
repetition  of  the  same  exercises,  again  and  again,  has  only  a  ver>' 
small  value,  if  one  does  not  penetrate  into  the  ver^'  reason  and  spirit 
of  the  same.     Everywhere  we  endeavored  to  discover  a  common  law 
resulting   from   the   unending   variety   of  similar  facts,   and  by  this 
means  to  escape  a  useless  prolixity.     This  is  the  road  which  scientific 
commercial  instruction  in  Germany  has  followed  to  perfect  itself." 
Ver}-   well !     But  in  this  way  has  there  not  been  a  certain  abuse  of 
theory  ?     Extremes  meet,  and  they  are  ordinarily  equally  pernicious.     We 
repeat  what  we  said  before,  that  the  schools  of  commerce  should  be  at  once 
polytechnic  schools  and  .schools  of  application,  and  in  order  that  applica- 
tion shall  bear  its  best  fruit  it  is  necessary  that  it  should  be  exercised  not 
upon  imaginary  operations,  but  upon  real  operations  properlj-  conducted, 
properly  systematized,  and  all  the  documents  relating  to  which  should  be 
ntethodically  brought  together  under  the  eyes  of  the  pupils. 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  recount  here  the  various  modifications 
which  were  made  in  the  Institute  of  Leipsic  from  1831  to  1868  ;  modifica- 
tions which  were  suggested  by  the  experience  of  the  school.  It  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  during  this  whole  period  the  basis  of  the  method  remained  the 
same  as  Schiebe  had  instituted  in  the  first  instance.  But  in  the  movement 
for  educational  reform  from  1868  to  1871,  the  Institute  at  Eeipsic  was 
compelled  to  follow  the  movement,  or  lose  its  title  of  a  higher  school. 
The  law,  relating  to  military  service  in  Saxony,  of  the  twenty-fourth  of 
December,  1866,  had  conceded  to  the  three  schools  of  commerce  at 
Dresden,  Chemnitz  and  Eeipsic,  the  right  to  give  a  certificate  entitling  to 
tlie  one  year  militan,-  service  privileges,  and  it  was  necessary'  to  reorganize 
the  instruction  to  conform  to  the  requirements  of  this  law. 

It, was,  then,  at  this  time,  that  the  university  tendency  of  general 
culture,  began  to  overbalance  the  purely  commercial  instruction  of  early 
years,  both  at  the  Institute  at  Leipsic,  and,  in  general,  in  all  the  higher 
schools  of  connnerce  in  Germany.  In  all  these  institutions  it  was  necessar>', 
in  order  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the  military  law,  to  reorganize 
their  curricula  from  the  ver\-  l:)ottom,  and  to  give  more  time  to  the  instruc- 
tion in  mathematics,  physical  and  natural  .sciences,  histor\',  geograph}' 
and  literature.  This  reorganization  implied  the  necessity  of  dimini.shing 
the  time  given  to  the  commercial  .sciences,  and  also  the  importance  of  the 
practical  exercises  in  the  counting  house. 

It  was  not  until  1S69  that  the  In.stitute  at  Leipsic  declared  it.self 
ready  to  comply  with  the  legal  provisions,  and  from  that  time  on,  this 
establishment  acquired  the  right  to  give  the  certificate  for  the  one-year 
voluntar\'  service. 


166 

This  change  in  its  instruction  led  it,  on  the  other  hand,  to  enlarge  the 
sphere  of  action  of  the  school,  in  order  to  preserve  its  former  professional 
character.  It  was  noted  that  a  certain  number  of  pupils  from  the  real 
schools,  who  held  the  Military  Certificate,  entered  immediately  into  busi- 
ness life  to  spend  the  years  which  had  still  to  elapse  before  they  were  of 
militar>^  age.  These  young  men,  from  sixteen  to  seventeen  j^ears  of  age. 
while  trained  in  modern  languages,  mathematics,  history,  geography,  but 
entirely  unacquainted  with  the  commercial  sciences,  found  themselves  at  a 
disadvantage  in  their  practical  careers  on  account  of  this  lack  of  special 
knowledge.  It  appeared,  then,  to  be  plain  that  the  Institute  atLeipsichad 
here  the  task  of  creating  a  Professional  Course  for  those  young  men  who 
had  obtained  the  Militarj'  Certificate.  The  success  of  this  course,  opened 
in  1876,  did  not  entirel}'  meet  the  expectations  of  its  founders. 

Three  years  later,  in  1879,  another  attempt  was  made.  B}-  the  side 
of  the  Professional  Course,  which  comprised  ten  lectures  a  week,  another 
course  was  established  of  from  thirty  to  thirty-two  exercises  per  week  for 
those  youth  \\'ho  held  the  ]Militar>'  Certificate  and  were  willing  to  devote  an 
additional  3'ear  to  study  for  preparation  of  the  commercial  career.  This 
last  course  was  received  with  considerable  favor,  and  the  attendance  shows- 
a  steady  increase.  This  result,  although  ver^-  satisfactory,  shows  that 
in  Germany,  as  in  France,  public  opinion  is  still  in  doubt  as  to  the  value  of 
commercial  instruction. 

The  director  of  the  school  expressed  himself  upon  this  point  in  the 
following  manner  : 

"  It  is  thought,"  he  said,  "  bj''  large  classes  of  our  population  that 
commercial  practice  can  fully  take  the  place  of  theoretical  knowledge. 
It  is,  however,  true  that  he  who  has  a  theoretical  knowledge  leanis 
more  from  experience  than  the  mere  empiricist,  to  whom  he  will 
always  be  superior  when  it  comes  to  a  matter  of  judgment,  or  to 
execute  intelligently  an  order,  or  to  act  with  energy  and  decision  in  dif- 
ferent situations,  but  many  years  will  probably  pass  before  the  value 
of  our  technical  professional  instruction  will  be  fully  appreciated, 
and  before  the  number  of  our  pupils  increases  in  proix)rtion  to  the 
advantages  which  professional  study  assures  to  him  who  follows  it 
thorouglily." 

It  is  not  necessary-  to  print  a  synopsis  of  the  courses,  as  the  individual 
subjects  taught  cover  very  much  the  same  ground,  having  due  regard  to 
the  greater  or  less  proportion  of  time  devoted  to  them,  as  in  the  French  and 
Austrian  .schools.  It  will  be  noted  from  a  comparison  of  the  curricuhnn 
given  above  with  those  of  the  .schools  in  France  and  Austria  that  con- 
siderably more  attention  is  given  to  the  non-technical  subjects  in  Gerniaii> . 
This  may  be  explained,  however,  by  the  fact  mentioned  abo^•e  that  in  order 
to  get  the  privilege  of  granting  the  Militarj^  Certificate,  these  .schools  were 
obliged  to  introduce  general  subjects  more  largely,  rather  than  because  of 
any  belief  that  the  German  curriculum  in  its  present  form  is  Ix^tter  than  the 
F'rench  or  Austrian. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  a  more  detailed  discu.ssion  of  questions  of 
discipline,  etc.,  as  in  this  resjx^ct  the  Institute  of  Leipsic  differs  Init  little 
from  tho.se  already  mentioned.  A  glance  at  the  Ixidget  of  the  .school  may, 
however,  be  of  interest. 

The  .school  is  carried  on,  under  ordinary  conditions,  in  such  a  way  that 
a  financial    deficit    regularly  occurs,   wliich    is    met    l\v  the   Chaml>er    of 


167 


Commerce  from  the  proceeds  of  funds  belonging  to  it.  It  is  well  housed  in 
a  model  school  building,  erected  in  1890.  The  budget  for  the  year  1885-86 
shows  the  following  receipts  and  expenditures  : 

Receipts  : 

Tuition  from  the  Higher  Divisiou 32,751   71  marks; 

"  '•      "    Professional  Course    ....     11,932  15       " 

"  "       "    Apprentice  Department    .    .    23,585  27 


Total 68,269  13 

Subsidy  from  the  Government 4,500  00 


Expenses  : 

Pensions  and  Salaries 63,662  61  niark« 

Lightinj.^      .    .                928  62 

Heating 928  42 

Printing 1,076  50 

Books  for   Library 571  00 

Chemical    Laboratory 451  78 

Mi.scellaneous  Expenses 508  39 

Rent 9,700  00 


72,769  13  marks. 


77,827  32  marks. 


168 

D. 
HIGHER  COMMERCIAL  INSTRUCTION  IN  BELGIUM. 


THE  SUPERIOR  INSTITUTE  OF  COMMERCE  AT  ANTWERP. 

{Instititt  Supericur  dc  Cormnci'cc  d'Anvcrs.) 


CHAPTER  I. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   FOUNDATION    OF  THE   INSTITUTE  AND  ITS  SUBSEQUENT 

DEVELOPMENT . 

The  initiative  of  the  creation  of  this  institute  which  has  acquired  such 
a  wide  reputation  belongs  to  M.  A.  Dechamps,  Minister  of  Foreign  AiFairs 
in  Belgium,  who,  in  1847,  ^^i*^  before  the  City  Council  of  Antwerp  and  the 
Provincial  Council,  sitting  in  that  cit\%  a  proposition  to  which  these  two 
bodies  gave  their  unanimous  consent.  At  the  time  at  which  the  Belgian 
minister,  concerned  for  the  future  of  his  country,  proposed  the  creation  of 
a  superior  institute  of  commerce  (thus  giving  an  example  of  economic  fore- 
sight, wiiicli  has  been  followed  in  France  so  far  only  by  the  initiative  of 
our  merchants)  ,the  subject  set  forth  and  supported  b}-  an  Antwerp  merchant, 
M.  H.  Matthyssens,  had  been  fully  treated  by  his  parent,  Dr.  Matthyssens, 
in  a  monograph  entitled  "Proposition  for  the  Organization  of  a  Belgian 
University-  of  Commerce  and  Industry."  -•' 

"  University  of  Commerce  " — the  word  was  then  in  all  mouths,  but 
"There's  many  a  slip  'twixt  the  cup  and  the  lip."  The  official  world  and 
the  Belgian  universities  were  not  willing  to  put  upon  the  same  level  instruc- 
tion in  commerce  and  in  the  humanities.  One  substituted  the  title  of 
institute  for  that  of  university,  and  the  institute  was  established  not  by 
law  but  by  a  simple  ministerial  order,  which  placed  it  in  a  distinctly  inferior 
position  to  normal  schools,  universities,  academies  and  the  intermediate 
schools  of  the  kingdom,  and  interfered  with  its  development  for  a  long  time. 

Various  circumstances  inter\'ened  to  delay  the  foundation  of  the  Insti- 
tute at  Antwerp.  Finally,  on  the  twentj'-second  of  October,  1852,  M. 
Rogier,  Minister  of  the  Interior,  incited  b}^  the  monograph  mentioned 
above  and  the  arguments  and  reports  by  M.  Loos,  the  mayor  and  Osten- 
dorp,  a  councillor,  accepted  the  basis  of  organization  for  the  new  school  and 
sul)mitted  it  to  the  City  Council  of  Antwerp,  asking  its  aid  to  the  extent 
of  paying  one-fourth  of  the  expenses  ;  the  other  three-fourths  being  met  by 
the  vState.  On  the  following  day  the  council  unanimously  agreed  to  the 
motion,  which  authorized  the  city  to  ratify  the  proposition  of  the  mini.ster, 
and  to  furnish,  in  addition,  the  complete  and  necessary  equipment. 

Finally,  on  the  twenty-second  of  the  same  month,  an  order,  counter- 
.signed  by  the  king,  established  the  institute,  which  was  opened  in  1853, 
with  fifty-one  pupils,  of  whom  ten  were  regulars  and  forty-one  specials. 
By  regular  pui)ils  was  meant  those  who  entered  for  all  the  courses  of  the 
Institute,  and  by  special  puj^ils  those  who  entered  for  a  certain  numl^r 
(see  Chapter  IL  below). 

*  See  [Jaiitry  f'.rnlr\  di'  Cnmmrrce,  p.  sSi  ord  JoUo-.ving. 


169 


riie  number  of  pupils  who  have  attended  the  courses  since  the  creation 
of  the  institute,  was  3297,  of  whom  1905  were  Belgians  and  1392 
foreigners.  There  were  1502  general  enrollments  and  1795  special.  This 
enrollment  gives  an  average  of  ninety-nine  pupils  per  year,  but  in  counting 
the  period  since  1868 — when  the  matriculation  fee  was  lowered  to  five 
francs  and  the  fee  for  each  course  was  fixed  at  thirty  francs — the  average 
lunnber  was  .sixty-eight  pupils  from  1852  to  1869,  and  128  from  1870  to 
!S86. 

The  following  table  gives  the  .stati.stics  of  the  nationality  of  the  pupils 
attending  the  institute  during  the  last  twelve  years  : 


ui 

■5. 

Native  Country  of  Foreigners. 

Years. 

0 

.a 

•0 

05 

.Si 

c 
3 

« 
0 

a 
"3 

Eft 

5) 

>> 

a 

0 

a 

2 

c 
a 

'5 

.2 

3 

•0 

n 

0 

n 

cd 

•3) 

3 

3 

5 

;-i 

n 



5^  i 

0 

ft- 

tfi 

5 

Si 

» 

W 

4 

0 

1S74-1875  .  .  . 

132 

81 

17 

_ 

2 

9 

6 

8 

1875-1876  .  .  . 

136 

74 

62 

28 

3 

- 

3 

7 

6 

7 

8 

1876-1877  .  .  . 

130 

70 

60 

18 

3 

5 

7 

7 

7 

2 

11 

T877-1878  .  .  . 

125 

79 

46 

11 

3 

2 

4 

4 

5 

2 

15 

1878-1879  .  .  . 

150 

107 

43 

15 

2 

I 

2 

4 

2 

4 

13 

1S79-1880  .  .  . 

137 

81 

56 

25 

3 

5 

4 

4 

4 

2 

9 

1880-1881  .  .  . 

119 

76 

43 

18 

2 

3 

4 

I 

3 

3 

9 

1881-1882  .  .  . 

120 

79 

41 

13 

3 

2 

4 

2 

5 

2 

10 

1S82-1883  .  .  . 

III 

67 

44 

T5 

I 

3 

2 

4 

7 

2 

10 

188^,-1884  ■  •  ■ 

126 

74 

52 

14 

2 

7 

6 

I 

9 

I 

12 

T 884- I 885  .   .  . 

139 

81 

58 

22 

I 

8 

8 

- 

8 

I 

10 

1885-1886  .  .   . 

136 

Si 

55 

13 

3 

2 

5 

- 

9 

4 

19 

The  presence  of  so  large  a  number  of  foreigners  at  the  institute  is  a  strik- 
ing testimony  on  the  part  of  the  foreign  countries  of  Europe  to  the  excellence 
of  this  instruction.  This  testimony  is  by  no  means  limited  to  being  one 
which  is  merely  honorable  for  the  establishment  concerned.  The  foreign 
pupils  form  friendships  at  this  School  of  Commerce  w^hich  are  permanent 
and  Ijecome  later  the  occasion  of  important  business  relations. 


CHAPTER  II. 

SUBSIDIES  :    SCHOLARSHIPS  ;    GOVERNMENT   OF    THE    INSTITUTE. 

Subsidies. — The  institute  is  supported  by  the  Belgian  government  to 
■.he  extent  of  three-fourths  of  its  expenses,  and  by  the  Cit>'  Council  of 
Antwerp  to  the  extent  of  one- fourth.  The  building  and  equipment  of  the 
institute  are  maintained  by  the  city  government  of  Antwerp. 

Scholarships. — The  scholarships,  of  which  we  give  a  list  below,  do  not 
appear  in  the  receipts  of  the  in.stitute.  They  are  paid  over  to  the  pupils. 
These  grants  are  not  always  utilized  and  the  number  a.ssigned  varies  greatly 
from  year  to  year.  Thus  the  province  of  Antwerp,  out  of  8000  francs 
voted  in  the  last  eight  years,  has  expended  altogether  only  1500  francs  in 
.scholarships  to  the  students.  The  list  of  .scholarships  founded  by  the  State, 
the  provinces  and  the  Alumni  Association  of  the  school  is  given  below. 


170 

State  Scholarships. — These  scholarships  were  created  by  a  royal  decree 
on  the  sixteenth  of  October,  1878,  and  their  value  cannot  exceed  600  francs  ; 
some  fifteen  in  number  are  assigned  exclusively  to  pupils  of  Belgian  birth 
who  have  entered  as  regular  students  and  have  passed  satisfactorily  the 
entrance  examination.  The  holders  of  these  scholarships  must  apply  each 
year. 

Provincial  Scholarships. — These  scholarships,  varying  from  300  to  400 
francs,  are  granted  by  the  province  of  Antwerp,  and  ser\'e  for  pupils  of 
Belgian  birth  living  in  the  province.  The  sum  of  1000  francs  is  annually 
inserted  into  the  budget  of  the  province  for  this  object.  In  the  Brabant 
there  are  fom  scholarships  of  an  annual  value  of  400  francs  ;  also  four  in 
the  Hainaut  of  250  francs  each.  Four  other  scholarships  of  800  francs  each 
have  been  established  by  the  Provincial  Council  of  Liege  in  favor  of  pupils 
bom  or  living  in  the  province.  The  sum  of  500  francs  is  also  incorporate!", 
each  year  into  the  budget  of  the  province  of  Namur. 

Of  the  fifteen  scholarships  granted  by  the  State,  six  are  provided  for  in 
the  budget  of  the  Administration  of  the  Interior,  and  nine  are  provided  for 
by  that  of  Agriculture  and  Industr\'. 

The  number  of  provincial  and  commercial  scholarships  is  sixteen,  of 
an  annual  value  of  7500  francs,  making  altogether  thirty-one  scholarships 
of  a  value  of  16,500  francs.  The  number  of  scholarships  founded  by  the 
Alumni  Association  is  two. 

Government  of  the  Institute. — The  institute  is  organized  on  the  plarj 
of  a  university.  In  consequence  the  pupils  do  not  live  in  the  school,  but 
find  quarters  in  the  city,  according  to  the  will  of  the  parents,  either  in 
boarding-houses,  especially  established  for  students  of  the  institute,  or  with 
the  professors,  or  in  private  houses,  on  the  conditions  established  in  their 
prospectuses.     The  pupils  of  the  institute  are  called  students. 

The  practical  and  theoretical  instruction  of  the  Superior  Institute  of 
Commerce  is  comprised  in  a  curriculum  covering  two  years.  Each  pupil 
must  matriculate  annually  ;  the  matriculation  fee  is  twenty-five  francs.  This, 
fee  is  reduced  to  five  francs  for  each  course  for  pupils  who  take  at  least  five 
courses.  The  student  who  has  been  admitted  may  obtain  a  general  matricu- 
lation for  all  the  courses  comprising  a  year's  course,  or  a  special  matricula- 
tion for  certain  indicatedcourses. 

General  Matriailation. — A  matriculation  for  all  the  courses  of  the  first 
year  can  be  obtained  only  by  pupils  who  have  secured  the  title  of  * '  Pupils 
of  the  First  Year, ' '  after  having  passed  an  examination  of  the  sort  indicated 
below.  The  fee  for  the  general  matriculation  of  all  the  courses  of  the  first 
year  is  200  francs.  A  general  matriculation  for  all  the  courses  of  the  second 
year  can  be  obtained  only  by  pupils  who  have  acquired  the  title  of  "  Pupils 
of  Second  Year, ' '  after  having  passed  an  examination  covering  the  entire 
instruction  of  the  first  year,  as  indicated  in  the  program.  The  general 
matriculation  for  all  the  courses  of  the  second  year  is  250  francs.  A  student 
may  matriculate  for  two  succeeding  years  in  the  same  class ;  he  is  then 
required  to  pay  only  half  price  for  the  second  matriculation. 

Special  Matriculation. — The  .special  matriculation  may  he  obtained 
for  one  or  more  courses  by  persons  who  do  not  desire  to  ]:)ass  the  examina- 
tion. It  must  be  obtained  .separately  for  each  course  at  the  price  of  tliirty 
francs,  and  if  the  .student  wi.shes  to  repeat  it,  at  fifteen  francs.  The  .special 
matriculation  in  the  connnercial  bureau  costs   100  francs  per  year.     This 


171 

matriculation  can  be  obtained  only  by  pupils  who  have  previously  been 
enrolled  for  at  least  four  courses  of  the  first  or  second  year.  Special 
matriculations  may  be  obtained  at  any  time  of  the  year  ;  no  reduction  in 
price,  however,  is  made  if  the  student  begins  at  any  other  time  than  at  the 
beginning  of  the  year.  No  entrance  examination  is  required  for  .special 
matriculations,  except  in  the  commercial  bureau  where  the  .students  must 
pass  an  examination  before  the  chief  of  the  bureau,  in  the  elements  of  book- 
keeping, French,  German,  Engli.sh  and  commercial  arithmetic.  Special 
.students  cannot  obtain  any  diploma  upon  leaving  the  institute.  All  the 
courses  of  the  institute  begin  between  the  tenth  and  fifteenth  of  October. 
They  are  given  in  French  ;  foreign  pupils  must  perfect  them.selves  in  this 
language  or  they  can  make  but  little  progress.  The  business  of  the  com- 
mercial bureau  is  carried  on  in  the  chief  modern  languages. 

Entrajicc  Examhiation. — The  entrance  examination  is  held  once  each 
year  during  the  first  week  of  October,  before  a  commission  named  by  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  presided  over  by  the  director.  There  is  no 
examination  at  the  Easter  time. 

Pupils  who  have  obtained  their  graduating  certificate  in  an  athenaeum 
of  the  kingdom,  or  in  any  other  .school  of  the  same  rank,  or  who  have 
obtained  a  certificate  of  graduation  from  a  German  gymnasium,  or  who 
prove  by  acceptable  documents  that  they  are  able  to  follow  the  instruction 
with  profit,  can  be  excused  from  the  entrance  examination,  provided  the>- 
have  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  French  language  and  of  the  English  and 
German.  Pupils  who  have  attended  the  Latin  schools  must  undergo  an 
examination  upon  bookkeeping  and  chemistry  ;  those  who  present  a 
certificate  of  having  studied  the  latter  subject  will  be  excused  from  exami- 
nation in  that  subject. 

Vacations. — The  institute  has  annually  two  vacations.  The  first  from 
the  fifteenth  of  August  to  the  second  Tuesday  in  October  ;  the  other  from 
the  Monday  before  Easter  to  the  second  Tuesday  after  Easter. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PROGRAM,  METHODS,  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE   TIME. 

The  theoretical  and  practical  in.struction  of  the  institute  is  given 
within  two  years.  However,  a  preparatory  course,  comprising  the  subjects 
of  instruction  prescribed  for  the  entrance  examination,  is  also  maintained 
at  the  institute.  This  special  school  is  open  from  Easter  until  the  tenth  of 
Augu.st.  It  has  been  established  to  render  the  entrance  examination  easy. 
Pupils  who  are  attending  a  public  .school  are  not  admitted  to  this  course,  at 
least  not  until  after  they  have  been  six  months  out  of  the  former.  The 
minimum  age  of  admission  is  sixteen  and  a  half  years. 

Program  of  the  Preparatory  Course  and  of  the  Examination  for  Admis- 
sion into  the  Eirst  )'ear. 

I.    COURSE  IN    LANGU-VGES. 

1.  French  Language.     Grammar.  Syntax.  Composition.  Correspondence. 

2.  German  Language.   Grammar.  Syntax.   Composition.  Tran.slation. 

3.  English  Language.   Grammar.  Syntax.   Composition.   Translation. 


172 

II.     BOOKKEEPING. 

Single  entry  bookkeeping.  Principal  book.s.  Auxiliary  books. 
Invoices.  Bills  of  lading.  Bills  of  exchange.  Laws  relating  to  Com- 
merce. Double  entr}^  bookkeeping.  Sub-division  of  general  accounts 
according  to  specialties  (merchants,  bankers,  manufacturers,  brokers, 
agents,  etc.)  Current  accounts  and  interest.  Operations  of  change,  public 
funds. 

III.    GEOGRAPHY. 

Physical  geography  of  the  five  continents. 

IV.    MATHEMATICS. 

(a)  Arithmetic. 

Elementary  arithmetic  in  its  applications  to  commerce. 
i^d)  Algebra. 

Algebraic   notation.      Equations   of    the  first    degree   with  one   and 
several  unknown  quantities.     Equations  of  the  second  degree   with  one 
unknown  quantity.     Problems  and  discussion  of  the  solutions. 
(r)   Geometr>\ 

Plane  geometrj-. 

V.    EI.EMENTARY  NOTIONS  OF  PHYSICS  AND  CHEMISTRY. 

(a)  Physics. 

Fundamental    notions.       General    properties    of    bodies.       Gravity. 
Hydrostatics.     Specific   weights.     Gases.     Principles    of  acoustics,   heat, 
light,  magnetism  and  electricity. 
(h)  Chemistr>^ 

(Inorganic  Chemistry.) 

Fundamental  notions.  Chemical  nomenclature.  Atomic  theory. 
Symbols  and  Formulas.  L,aw  of  proportions.  Eaw  of  multiple  propor- 
tions. Problems  of  application.  Combinations.  Decompositions. 
Reactions.  Berthollet'slaw.  Dissolution.  Cr>'stallization,  radical  theor>' 
of  types.  Metalloids  and  their  compounds.  Principal  metals  and  their 
compounds.  General  characters  of  oxides,  sulphides,  chlorides,  bromides, 
iodides,  fluorides. 

(Organic  Chemistry.) 

Fundamental  notions  of  organic  chemistry. 

VI.  GENERAL  HISTORY. 

VII.  COMMERCIAIv   EAW. 

Contracts,  essential  conditions  and  principal  forms  of  contracts.  Mer- 
chants, commissioners,  brokers.  Bills  of  exchange  and  shipping,  invoices. 
Commercial  companies,  bankruptcies. 

VIII.    POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

General  notions  as  discussed  in  the  treatises  of  Garnier  and  Lavelaye. 

This  preparatory  course  is  given  by  professors  in  the  institute  and 
assi.stant  instructors.  It  lasts  from  the  fifteenth  of  April  or  the  first  of 
May  to  the  tenth  of  August.  It  may  be  extended  in  cases  of  necessity. 
Tlic  hours  are  distributed  as  follows  : 

French,  three  hours  a  week  ;  German,  three  hours  ;  Engli.sh,  two 
liours  ;  Hi.story,  three  hours  ;  Geography,  three  hours  ;  Bookkeeping,  three 
iiours ;  Arithmetic,  three  hours ;  Algebra,  two  hours ;  Geometry,  two 
hours  ;  Phy.sics,  two  hours  ;  Chemistry,  two  hours  ;  Law,  two  hours ; 
I'oliticnl  Economy,  one  hour. 


173 

The  entrance  examinations  for  the  first  year  are  1x)th  oral  and  written 
upon  the  subjects  indicated  above.  The  written  examination  precedes  the 
oral.  All  candidates  are  examined  in  the  written  work  at  the  .same  time. 
The  written  examination  is  six  hours  in  length.  The  oral  examination 
lasts  at  least  one-half  hour  for  each  candidate. 

The  course  of  the  first  year  is  not  very  different  from  that  in  the  two 
French  schools  discussed  in  this  report  and  need  not  therefore  Ix;  repeated 
here. 

Practical  Part.      Comnic7'cial  Bureau  {Firxt  Year). 

The  different  theoretical  courses  of  the  first  year  all  converge  toward 
the  Commercial  Bureau,  which  embraces  the  application  of  mathematics 
and  the  practical  exercises  in  commerce  and  industry,  and  covers  both 
years.  In  the  first  year  the  pupils  are  trained  in  the  practice  of  calculating 
invoices ;  in  banking  and  exchange  operations ;  in  current  accounts ;  in 
exchange  ;  in  sales  accounts  ;  in  arbitrage,  etc.  Including,  therefore,  the 
making  out  of  bills  of  exchange,  bills  of  lading,  etc.  Each  commercial 
document  placed  under  the  eye  of  the  pupil  is  an  olyect  of  explanations,  or 
of  references  to  the  explanations  given  in  the  theoretical  course. 

Finally,  the  regular  operations  of  a  business  house  are  taken  up  ;  the 
work  being  the  same  for  each  pupil.  Each  of  them  mu.st  perform  all  the 
functions  in  turn,  keep  books  and  carry  on  a  correspondence  relating  to  the 
operations  of  the  house,  first  in  French  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  in 
other  langviages.  The  operations  of  this  fictitious  business  hou.se  are  given 
to  the  pupil,  who  keeps  a  complete  account  of  the  fluctuations  of  price  in 
the  various  markets.  Each  month  the  business  of  the  house  is  closed  up, 
and  on  the  thirty-first  of  May  an  inventory  is  made  and  books  are  opened 
anew  in  such  a  way  that  each  pupil  goes  through  the  entire  round  f)f 
operations  and  correspondence. 

In  the  first  year  business  is  limited  to  Europe,  but  it  comprises  com- 
mission business,  banking,  independent  business,  partnership  or  agenc}', 
consignments,  .shipments,  etc.      Industrial  and  corporate  accounting  is  also, 
taught  in  the  points  where  the}^  are  different  from  commercial  and  banking 
accounting. 

:;:  :!J  ^;  :K 

The  course  of  the  vSecond  j-ear  corresponds  to  the  second  year's  course 
in  the  French  .schools  and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

Practical  Part.      Commercial  Bureau  (^Second  Year). 

In  this  bureau  the  plan  changes  in  the  second  year.  The  pupil  who 
has  been  trained  in  the  preceding  year  to  perform  in  the  order  of  time  all 
the  operations  which  can  be  quickly  conducted  in  Europe,  is  now  trained 
to  follow  the  operations  extending  over  a  long  period  from  the  transmission 
of  the  order  to  the  final  execution,  pa.ssing  through  all  the  intermediate 
l^hases  ;  to  follow  the  business  into  any  market  whatever  ;  to  make  all  the 
calculations  and  carry  on  all  the  correspondence,  and  to  handle  all  tlie 
writings  in  the  order  of  combinations  and  time.  The  general  cour.se  of  the 
operations  is  indicated  to  the  pupil  with  the  special  conditions,  which  is 
then  left  to  him  to  execute  to  the  best  of  his  ability  under  the  eye  of  the 
professor.  These  fictitious  operations  based  upon  real  operations  drawn 
from  the  practice  of  the  great  business  hou.ses,  are  carried  on  with  the 
leading  commercial  places  on  the  globe.  The  pupil  follows  them  ea.sih- 
and  with  interest,  for  they  are  not  verj-  numerous.  He  keeps  the  various 
accounts  in  the  w^eights.  measures  and  monevs  of  the  different  countries. 


174 

He  carries  on  correspondence  in  different  languages.  In  these  practical 
exercises  is  found  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the  application  of  the 
knowledge  acquired  in  the  bureau  in  the  first  year,  as  well  as  in  the  differ- 
ent theoretical  courses.  This  method  is  evidently  well  adapted  to  train 
merchants  capable  of  comprehending  large  business  transactions,  of 
combining  them  and  of  executing  them  in  all  their  parts. 

It  is  worth  noticing  that  it  is  the  Institute  at  Antwerp  which  first 
adopted  the  system  of  a  series  of  business  houses  or  offices  through  which 
the  students  successively  passed.  Introduced  at  Miihlhausen  by  Dr.  Penot, 
this  system,  which  presents  certain  advantages,  has  not  succeeded  at  the 
school  of  Lyons.  It  is  still  in  force  in  the  schools  at  Marseilles,  Bordcr.ux 
and  Havre. 

The  reasons  which  have  led  the  Institute  of  Antwerp  to  reject  it  are  : 

First — That  pupils  in  this  w^ay  do  only  a  part  of  the  work. 

Second — That  operations  with  various  places  are  limited,  because  it  is 
impo.ssible  to  modify  the  divisions  of  the  office  constantly. 

Third — That  pupils  occupy  toward  one  another  in  turn  inferior  posi- 
tions, which  are  not  always  accepted  with  pleasure. 

Fourth — That  it  is  necessary  in  order  to  apply  that  system  perfectly 
either  to  have  assistants  in  the  bureau  sufficiently  numerous  to  supervise 
almost  all  the  operations  of  each  office,  or  pupil  teachers  to  be  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  offices  and  capable  of  executing  the  orders  of  the  chief  of 
the  bureau. 

One  has  then  judged  it  preferable  to  make  each  pupil  go  through  all 
the  parts  of  the  operations  by  putting  him  by  turns  into  the  places  where 
each  operation  is  carried  on.  Thus  we  have  returned  to  the  method 
followed  since  1820  in  the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  of  Paris,  which 
also,  while  under  the  direction  of  Blanqui,  attempted  the  division  of  the 
Commercial  Bureau  into  separate  commercial  houses  and  which  gave  up 
tills  plan  after  some  years. 

WEEKLY    DIVISION   OF   THE   TIME. 

SUBJECTS.  l'"irst  Year.        Second  Ve;ir. 

Comniereial  Bureau 12  12 

Commercial  Arithmetic 3  3 

History  of  Commercial  Products  aiul  Conimercial  Chetnistry  .  2  3 

Political  Economy  and  Statistics i  2 

General  History  of  Commerce 2  — 

Commercial  and  Industrial  Geography i  3 

Commercial  and  Maritime  Law. — Principles  of  InternatiDual 

Law    ...        2  — 

General  Principles  of  Law —  i 

Tariff  IvCgislalion i  — 

Maritime  Construction  and  Kquipment l  — 

Dutch 2  2 

German 3  3 

English 3  3 

Spanish  or  Italian 3  3 

Total  number  of  hours 36  35 

Daily  disiribiitioJi  of  hours. 

Courses,  properh'  so-called 3  3 

Commercial  Bureau  (five  days  in  a  weekj 3  3 

The  pupils  must  be  present  at  the  institute  at  eight  o'cl(x:k  in  the 
nlorninl.^       Besides  an   interval  of   ten  minutes    at   ten  o'clock,   they  are 


17o 

allowed  two  liours  for  lunch,  which  they  may  take  at  home,  thus  dividing 
tlie  day  into  two  sections  of  four  and  two  hours  respectively  :  from  eight 
o'clock  until  noon,  and  from  two  to  four  in  the  afternoon. 

Observations  07i  the  histrjution  in  the  Institute. — ^The  curriculum  of 
the  Institute  at  Antwerp,  whose  first  program  was  proposed  by  M.  H. 
Matthyssen  and  whose  first  organization  in  1853  was  effected  by  M.  J.  B. 
Fontaine,  has  enjoyed  a  reputation  for  a  long  time,  which  the  improve- 
Mients  in  its  work,  notably  under  the  direction  of  M.  Grandgaignage, 
fully  justify.  This  able  director,  aided  by  the  practical  advice  of  his 
Council  of  Administration  and  his  instructing  body,  as  well  as  by  the 
Alumni  Association,  has  constantly  endeavored  since  his  appointment  in 
1876  to  develop  and  improve  the  program  of  the  institute,  and  to 
strengthen  the  studies  l)y  permanent  examinations,  which  we  shall  men- 
tion later. 

The  courses  in  language  have  been  specially  strengthened,  as  well  as 
those  in  commercial  arithmetic  and  banking,  which  were  at  first  included 
ill  the  instruction  of  the  Commercial  Bureau,  but  which  are  now  made 
the  object  of  a  separate  course.  The  courses  in  naval  equipment  and 
construction  have  been  made  more  practical ;  the  course  in  commercial 
products  which  cannot  usefully  be  extended  to  all  materials,  has  been 
limited  to  the  most  important  commodities  and  products,  to  those  which 
support  the  principal  markets  of  the  world  ;  the  course  in  commercial 
geography — which  has  recently  been  introduced  into  Belgian  universities — 
has  been  based  more  and  more  at  this  institute  upon  the  consular  reports, 
and  upon  the  statistical  facts  included  in  their  tables  ;  the  course  in  the 
history  of  commerce  and  industry,  without  abandoning  entirely  the  field 
of  ancient  history,  has  been  more  and  more  extended  in  the  modern 
field.  In  this  way  the  material  of  each  course  has  been  increased  and 
strengthened  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  various  courses,  and  the 
practical  results  which  are  expected. 

Let  us  add  that  the  students  of  the  Institute  at  Antwerp  have  had 
infoniiation  of  every  sort  i)laced  at  their  disposal  by  the  government : 
commercial  and  financial  journals,  economic  reviews,  bulletins,  circulars 
of  business  houses,  etc.  These  publications  furnish  material  relating  to 
the  business  usage  of  different  places,  the  movement  of  business,  its 
Jiature  and  mechani.sm.  The  students  have,  moreover,  at  their  disposi- 
tion a  librar}'  of  four  thousand  volumes,  among  which  are  to  be  foinid 
the  principal  works  relating  to  commercial  and  economic  science,  to  law, 
tf>  the  physical  and  natural  .sciences,  to  travel,  to  histor>',  to  literature, 
etc. 

Besides  the  regular  courses,  conferences,  organized  by  the  director, 
are  held  by  practical  men,  merchants,  brokers,  manufacturers,  engineers, 
etc.,  upon  the  various  questions  relating  to  the  .subjects  of  instruction. 
We  should  also  mention  the  industrial  visits  which  are  made  each  year 
during  the  vacations,  under  the  conduct  of  the  director  or  of  the  pro- 
fes.sors,  to  the  principal  business  establishments  of  the  countr\',  in  order  to 
enable  the  pupils  to  receive  at  the  ven,-  centres  of  manufacturing,  and 
from  the  most  competent  men,  full  explanations  as  to  the  qualities  of  the 
various  raw  materials,  the  u.ses  made  of  them,  their  transformations,  the 
products  manufactured  from  them,  the  country  of  destination,  mode  of 
packing,  .'^hipping,  etc. 


176 


It  will  be  noticed  that  the  program  of  the  Institute  at  Antwerp  does 
not  comprise  courses  in  elocution  and  stenography,  which  are  to  be  found 
in  the  instruction  of  many  of  the  French  schools.  The  merchant  should 
early  learn  how  to  express  himself  in  public,  and  to  take  rapid  notes  on 
the  remarks  of  others.  At  the  school  of  Marseilles,  in  particular,  the 
debates  of  the  pupils  have  given  the  best  results. 

But  the  difficulty  of  expressing  one's  self  does  not  always  come  from 
a  lack  of  self-possession  and  skill,  but  is  ordinarily  caused  by  insufficient 
primary'  instruction.  At  the  Institute  at  Antwerp,  as  in  our  French 
commercial  schools,  the  defects  of  the  fundamental  training  interfere  with 
the  homogeneity  of  the  studies.  The  technical  instruction  is  based  upon 
a  general  education  which  is  too  often  insufficient.  This  defect  shows 
itself  to  the  examiners  in  the  extreme  difficulty  with  which  certain  pupils 
present  their  ideas,  in  their  embarrassed  definitions,  and  in  tlie  feebleness 
of  their  .style.  We  find  here  an  additional  reason  for  insisting  upon  the 
preparatory  3'ear,  and  requiring  ever}'  pupil  to  lake  it  whose  entrance 
examination  is  not  entirely  satisfactory. 

It  would  also,  without  doubt,  be  well  to  add  a  third  year  to  the  regu- 
lar course  ;  to  organize  a  higher  course  in  French  and  to  strengthen  tlie 
instruction  in  other  foreign  languages.  This  third  year,  during  which  the 
courses  in  law,  legislation  and  procedure  could  be  more  fulh'  developed, 
would  prepare  the  pupils  for  the  consular  career,  which  is  frequently 
recruited  in  Belgium  from  the  ranks  of  merchants. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ICXAMINATIOXS. 


General  Examinations. — Regular  pupils  must  pass  three  general 
examinations.  The  first  at  admission  ;  the  second  at  passing  from  the  first 
to  the  second  year ;  and  the  third  at  the  close  of  the  second  }ear.  The  board 
of  this  last  examination  confers  a  diploma  of  capacity,  giving  the  title  of 
"Licentiates  in  the  Commercial  Sciences."  This  board,  compo.sed  of 
seven  members  named  by  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  and  Industry,  is 
chosen  from  among  the  members  of  the  Administrative  Commission,  from 
merchants  of  the  place,  and  from  the  professors  of  the  institute.  The 
government  is  represented  in  this  board  by  the  Inspector  General  of  Indus- 
try. The  board  of  the  entrance  examination  and  of  the  examination  at 
the  close  of  the  first  year,  is  formed  of  tlie  professors  of  the  institute, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  director.  These  examinations  are  partly  oral 
and  partly  written.  The  written  examination  is  held  at  the  same  time 
for  all  the  pupils  ;  the  questions  for  the  written  examinations  are  drawn  by 
lot  by  the  various  candidates.  The  oral  examination  is  public  ;  it  follows 
an  order  of  priority  determined  by  lot  for  three  candidates  at  one  time. 
The  subjects  of  this  examination  are  tho.se  of  the  instruction  in  the  pro- 
fessional sections  of  the  athenajums,  colleges  and  gynniasiums,  and  in  the 
preparatory  course  of  the  institute. 


177 

Below  is  given  the  value  assigned  to  the  dififerent  subjects  : 

KNTKANCK  EXAMINATION.                                                    Written.  Oral. 

French  Composition           lo  — 

Translation  into  English 5  — 

Translation  into  German 5  — 

Arithmetic  with  its  Application  to  Commerce 10  — 

Bookkeeping 10  — 

Physical  Geography 10  — 

General  History 10  — 

Commercial  Law 10  — 

Political  Kconomy 10  — 

Algebra —  20 

Physics  and  Chemistry —  20 

80  40 
Total,  120  points, 

of  which  the  candidate  must  obtain  at  least  three-fifths  or  72  points. 

EXAMINATION  AT  THE;  CLOSE  OV  FIRST   YEAR.                          Written.  Oral. 

Business 10  10 

Commercial    Arithmetic 5  5 

Connnercial  and  Industrial    Geography 10  10 

Political  Economy 10  10 

General  Principles  of  Law 5  5 

Commercial  Products 10  10 

French 5  5 

Flemish 5  5 

Knglish 5  5 

German 5  5 

Italian  or  Spanish    .       5  5 

n.      1                .  75  75 
Total,   150  points, 

of  which  the  candidate  must  obtain  three-fifths  or  90  points. 

FINAL  EXAMINATION.                                                      Written.  OraL 

Business 10  10 

Commercial  Arithmetic 5  -^ 

Commercial  and  Indu.strial  Geography 10  10 

Political  Economy  and  Statistics 10 

Commercial  and  industrial  Law      10 

Commercial  and  Maritime  Law 10 

International  Law 5 

Tariff  Legislation 5  5 

Commercial  Products      lo 

Naval  Construction  and  Equipment 10 

French 10  5 

F'lemish lo  5 

English 10  5 

German 10 

Spanish  or  Italian 10  5 

A  report  upon  the  commercial  and  industrial  situation  of  a  country  to 
be  detennined  by  lot  among  three  countries,  set  at  least  fifteen  days 
before  the  examination.     Four  hours  is  given  for  the  writing  of 

this  report,  which  counts 40  — 

175  S5, 
Total  260  points, 

of  which  the  candidate  must  obtain  three-fifths  or  1 56  points. 


178 

ENROLLMENTS   FOR   THE    EXAMINATIONS. 

Entrance.  First  Year.  Final. 

Enrolled.    Admitted.        F^nrolled.    Admitted.        Enrolled.    Admitted. 

Trom  1S53  to  1877    ...      894  642  437  330  223  176 

"      1877  to  1885    ...      349  298  243  202  168  141 

1243  940  680  532  391  317 

Partial  Examinations. — Since  1877  the  pupils  have  also  been  required 
to  pass  partial  examinations,  written  or  oral,  in  order  to  determine  their 
standing  during  the  year.  This  mark  and  that  of  the  following  examina- 
tion are  added  together  giving  the  final  mark.  It  is  thought  at  Antwerp 
as  in  our  own  schools  that  one  should  judge  the  student  not  b}^  a  single 
test,  but  by  the  work  of  the  whole  year,  as  in  this  way  better  results  are 
obtained.  The  resitlts  of  the  examination  at  the  close  of  the  first  )'ear 
and  of  the  final  examination  are  published  in  the  journals. 


CHAPTER  V. 

REWARDS  ;    DISCIPLINARY    MEANS. 

Diploma. — The  students  of  the  second  year  who  have  passed  with 
success  the  final  examination  obtain  a  diploma  of  capacity,  giving  them 
the  title,  .since  1873,  of  Licentiates  in  the  Commercial  Sciences.  The 
diploma  certifies  that  the  course  of  the  student  has  been  eminently  satis- 
factory if  he  has  obtained  from  156  to  175  points  out  of  a  total  of  260  ; 
with  distinction  from  176  to  200;  with  great  distinction  from  201  to  230 
points  ;  and  with  the  highest  distinction  from  231  to  260  points. 

From  1878  to  1885  the  number  of  students  who  entered  the  final 
examination  was  168.  Of  this  number  141  received  the  diploma — 77 
marked  satisfactory  ;  42  distinguished  ;  18  highly  distinguished  ;  and  4 
the  highest  distinction. 

Observations. — The  title  of  Licentiates  in  the  Commercial  Sciences, 
used  now  for  ten  years  in  the  diploma  of  the  institute,  has  contributed  to 
raise  its  value.  In  the  electoral  law  of  1883  ^^  diploma  of  the  Institute 
of  Antwerp  was  put  upon  the  same  footing  as  a  university  diploma.  This 
measure,  well  calculated  to  encourage  students  to  present  themselves  for 
the  entrance  examination,  has  already  led  to  a  marked  increa.se  in  the 
attendance  at  the  in.stitute.  Another  measure,  not  less  favorable  to  its 
increase,  was  the  organization,  in  1880,  of  the  intermediate  instruction  in 
the  athenaeums  of  the  small  towns,  and  the  encouragement  given  by  the 
government  to  those  students  who  pursued  their  intermediate  studies  up 
to  the  first  year.  Thus  the  students  of  the  athenaeums,  entering  the  Insti- 
tute of  Antwerp,  received  prizes  of  from  300  to  600  francs.  One  has 
attained  in  this  way  tlie  double  re.sult  of  increasing  the  attendance  at  the 
higher  courses  in  the  atheiueums,  and  of  favoring  the  l)etter  preparation 
of  tlie  students  f(jr  the  institute.  This  is  another  evidence  of  the  necessity 
of  government  patronage  for  connnercial  .schools.  The  Belgian  government 
would  not  have  favored  the  Institute  of  Antwerp  in  this  way  if  it  had  been 
a  private  institution.     The  lielgian  government  belongs,  moix^)ver,  in  the 


179 

very  first  rank  of  the   Huvopean  governments  which  have  assisted  in  the 
development  of  commercial  instruction. 

Traveling  Scholarships. — The  students  to  whom  the  diploma  of  the 
grade  of  high  distinction  lias  been  given  may  obtain  a  traveling  scholarship 
upon  the  request  of  the  Administrative  Commission  of  tlie  in.stitute.  An 
amnial  grant  of  45,000  francs  was  inserted  into  the  Belgian  government 
budget  by  an  order  of  the  nineteenth  of  Februarj',  1862  ;  an  excellent 
measure  which  the  French  government  have  just  decided  to  take.  These 
.scholarships,  destined  to  encourage  young  men  who  desire  to  complete  their 
commercial  knowledge  by  residing  outside  of  Europe,  vary  in  value  from 
5000  to  6000  francs,  according  to  the  countries  chosen.  They  are  assigned 
for  three  j-ears.  The  number  of  scholars  was  very  small  at  first,  since  the 
Belgians  care  to  go  abroad  as  little  as  the  French  do.  However,  thanks  to 
the  laudable  efforts  of  the  faculty  of  the  institute,  twenty-five  graduates  have 
requested  and  obtained  these  traveling  scholarships  within  the  last  ten 
years,  and  have  gone  to  Argentine  Republic,  Brazil,  United  vStates,  Canada, 
Mexico,  China,  Japan,  India,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  etc.  They  have 
founded  Belgian  business  houses  in  the.se  places,  and  opened  up  markets 
of  a  certain  importance  to  Belgian  products.  Some  have  returned  to 
e.stabli.sh  themselves  as  merchants  in  their  own  country',  and  to  profit  by 
the  relations  which  they  had  established.  Finally,  several  of  the.se 
scholars  hold,  or  have  held,  the  po.st  of  consul  or  vice-consul  of  Belgium 
at  Calcutta,  Sidney,  Melbourne,  Buenos-Ayres,  etc.  Two  former  pupils 
of  the  institute  have  occupied  for  several  years  the  post  of  assi.stants  in  the 
FvUglish  administration  of  the  Chinese  tariffs. 

All  these  scholarship  holders  have  then  contributed  to  develop  the 
commerce  of  the  mother  country  in  a  manner  much  more  u.seful  and  pro- 
ductive than  they  would  have  done  if  they  had  not  gone  abroad.  To-day 
public  attention  having  been  aroused  and  emulation  excited,  these  vScholar- 
ships  are  in  demand  by  the  students.  On  the  first  of  January'  last  .seven 
graduates  had  applied  for  them,  and  in  1886  there  were  seven  holders 
of  these  scholar.ships,  of  whom  three  are  in  Au.stralia,  two  in  Mexico  and 
*two  in  the  Cape  Colony. 

The  certificate  of  the  consul  is  required  of  the  pupil  to  show  that  he 
is  occuf)ying  himself  with  commercial  affairs.  Before  his  departure  the 
student  must  engage  in  practical  work  in  Europe,  but  at  his  own  co.st. 
This  is  a  guarantee  and  a  great  inconvenience.  It  is  certain  that  the 
pupil  upon  leaving  the  institute  is  not  sufficiently  prepared  to  perform 
properly  all  .sides  of  his  mission,  he  lacks  experience.  On  the  contrary, 
when  he  has  had  .some  business  experience  the  situation  is  changed,  he 
has  been  face  to  face  with  actual  realities  ;  he  has  observed  and  reflected  ; 
he  has  met  certain  difficulties  of  business  life  ;  he  is  prepared  to  profit  to 
the  fullest  extent  both  on  his  own  account  and  that  of  his  country-  from  the 
connections  which  he  may  know  how  to  establish,  thanks  to  the  liberality 
of  the  study,  a  liberality  which  allows  him  to  complete  his  practical 
in.structioir  in  practical  life,  without  having  to  divert  his  attention  by  the 
necessity  of  earning  his  living.  But  will  not  this  very  business  experience 
too  often  hinder  the  travel  which  one  wishes  to  favor?  If  the  pupil  finds 
a  good  po.sition  he  grows  into  it  fearing  to  lose  a  certainty  for  an  uncer- 
tainty. It  will  be  seen  that  the  question  merits  careful  examination,  and 
one  cannot  favor  either  view  absolutelv. 


180 

The  holders  of  these  scholarships  are  required  to  send  a  report  to  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  the  end  of  the  first  year's  study  in  the 
country^  which  they  have  chosen.  These  reports  are  ordinarily  ver>'  well 
made  ;  some  of  them  have  been  worth  publishing  in  whole  or  in  part  in 
the  consular  reports. 

Discipline. — The  pupils  of  the  institute  being  on  an  average  of  from 
eighteen  to  twentj-  j-ears  of  age  cannot  be  subjected  to  the  ordinan*-  rules 
of  the  athenaeums  and  colleges. 

The  rules  of  order  of  the  institute  are  limited,  therefore,  to  the  mere 
regulation  of  the  succession  of  the  courses  and  exercises,  and  generalh' 
speaking  they  are  very  mild.  Fifteen  unexcused  absences  incur  a  repri- 
mand, which  can,  it  is  true,  exercise  an  unfavorable  influence  upon  the 
examinations.  The  rules  also  require  that  the  note  books  of  the  pupils 
shall  be  submitted  to  the  Board  of  Examiners,  and  may  be  considered  in 
assigning  the  final  grade.  The  pupils  must  pursue  all  the  exercises 
required  in  the  Commercial  Bureau,  as  well  as  in  the  other  courses. 
They  are  admitted  to  the  examination  onlj-  after  showing  a  certificate 
from  the  head  of  the  bureau  that  their  books  have  been  regularly  kept 
up  to  the  close  of  the  operations  of  the  year.  Any  acts  of  insubordina- 
tion tending  to  disturb  the  order  of  the  school,  either  within  or  without 
the  exercises,  incur  temporary  suspension. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ADMINISTRATION  ;    RECEIPTS  ;    EXPENSES. 

The  institute  is  governed  \iy  a  commission  composed  of  the  mayor 
of  Antwerp,  as  president,  of  the  director  and  of  several  other  members. 
Three  of  these  members  are  named  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and 
three  by  the  Common  Council  for  a  term  of  three  years.  The  mayor  of 
the  cit}'  of  Antwerp  is  president  ex  officio  of  this  commission,  over  which 
he  always  presides,  luiless  the  governor  of  the  province  should  be  present 
at  the  session.  This  commission,  one-third  of  which  is  thus  renewed 
every  year,  lays  before  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  its  proposals  relating 
to  the  appointment  of  the  director  ;  it  supervises  the  execution  of  the 
rules  of  the  institute,  controls  the  course  of  study,  and  makes  at  the  end 
of  each  year  a  report  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  upon  the  discipline 
and  management  of  the  establishment. 

Coimcil  of  Impi-ovemcnt. — This  council  is  composed  of  the  profe.s.sors, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  director.  It  concerns  itself  with  measures 
relating  to  the  instruction  of  the  school,  and  makes  recommendations 
npon  this  subject  to  the  administrative  commi.ssion,  which  aiuiually 
appoints  two  of  its  members  to  be  present  at  the  sessions  of  this  council. 

hispedion. — The  government  appoints  a  person  to  inspect  the  insti- 
tute in  order  to  keep  track  of  the  course  of  its  work,  and  the  maimer  in 
which  the  program  is  carried  out.  This  function  was  entrusted  in  1862 
to  the  In.spector  General  of  Industry,  M.  J.  Kindt,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  final  examination  board  which  conferred  the  title  of  Licentiates  of  the 
Commercial  and  Industrial  vSciences  to  tho.se  securing  a  diploma. 


181 

Budget  : 

RECEIPTS. 

Francs. 

Government  subsidy 45,000 

City  subsidy 15,000 

Probable  income  from  matriculations xO,ooo 

80,000 

EXPENSES. 

Francs. 

Salaries 51,000 

Museum  and  library 3,000 

Heating  and  lighting 2,000 

Expenses  of  Commercial  Bureau 2,000 

Examination  expense3 2,000 

Division  of  matriculation  fees 20,000 

80,000 

The  sum  received  from  the  matriculations  is  divided  among  the 
instructors  of  the  institute  by  way  of  supplementing  their  salaries.  The 
professors  in  the  institute  are,  moreover,  entitled  to  a  pension  upon 
retirement. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

pfeRSONNEL. 

The  faculty  of  the  Superior  Institute  of  Commerce  of  Antwerp  is 
composed  of  thirteen  professors  and  two  assistants. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GENERAL   CONSIDERATIONS. — CONCH'SIOX. 

Although  it  has  rendered  great  ser\dces  and  has  existed  for  more 
than  thirty  years,  the  institute  at  Antwerp  has  not  been  as  yet  fully 
accepted  in  Belgium,  even  in  the  comtnercial  world.  This  ought  not  to 
surprise  us,  for  the  same  thing  is  true  of  France  in  regard  to  its  com- 
mercial schools  of  commerce.  It  is  with  the  Belgians  as  with  the  French — 
commercial  instruction  must  contend  with  the  prejudices  and  with  the 
contempt  of  the  classical  schools.  "Of  what  use  is  it,"  says  one,  "to 
train  shopkeepers  ?  " 

This  contempt,  which  belongs  as  would  appear  to  good  tone,  has 
found  in  Belgium,  as  in  France,  an  echo  even  among  the  shopkeepers 
themselves,  seduced  by  the  beauties  of  classical  instruction  to  which  they 
have  given  their  most  intelligent  boys.  "Of  what  use,"  say  they,  "is 
commercial  instruction  ?  "  "  Did  we  learn  commerce  at  school  ?  Practice 
has  made  us  what  we  are  ;  practice  alone  can  do  it. ' ' 

In  1867,  fourteen  years  after  its  establishment,  the  institute  at  Ant- 
werp had  only  sixty-six  pupils,  of  whom  tliirt>--five  were  foreigners,  which 
shows  that  its  reputation,  already  well  merited,  was  better  established 
abroad  than  in  Belgium  itself  It  is  notable  that  since  the  active  impres- 
sion made  upon  the  work  of  the  school  by  the  chief  of  the  commercial 
bureau,  M.  Grandgaignage,  who  became  director  of  the  institute  in  1878, 


182 

the  number  of  regular  students  has  steadily  increased.  The  statistical 
table,  previously  gi'ren,  shows  that  in  the  period  from  1852  to  1869  there 
were  11 16  pupils,  an  average  of  68  per  year;  while  from  1870  to  1886 
there  were  2 181  pupils,  an  average  of  128.  We  have  already  explained 
that  the  reduction  of  the  matriculation  fee  at  the  institute  has  contributed 
largely  to  this  result,  as  well  as  the  provisions  established  by  the  Belgian 
government  in  favor  of  the  diploma  of  the  institute,  which  was  assim- 
ilated to  the  licentiates  and  placed,  under  the  electoral  law  of  1883,  upon 
a  footing  of  equality  with  the  university  diplomas. 

To-day  prominent  people  connected  with  commerce  send  their 
children  to  this  institute.  Many  persons  might  be  mentioned  ;  among 
those  a  former  minister  ;  the  mayor  of  Antwerp  ;  many  members  of  the 
Legislature,  etc.  A  few  more  years  and  its  success  will  be  undoubted. 
The  growth  of  the  institute  at  Antwerp  has  been  comparatively  slow, 
when  we  consider  that  it  has  enjoyed  from  the  beginning  the  moral  and 
financial  support  of  the  State,  the  latter  having  granted  a  subsidy  of 
90,000  francs  a  year  since  1862,  a  sum  far  exceeding  that  which  was 
granted  to  similar  education  in  France. 

Belgium  contains  5,500,000  inhabitants.  The  commercial  and 
industrial  element  is  the  dominating  one,  and  it  is,  therefore,  a  cause  of 
astonishment  that  it  sends  annually  only  about  eighty  students  to  the 
only  establishment  of  higher  commercial  instruction  in  the  country. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE   ALUMNI    ASSOCIATION   OF   THE   SUPERIOR    INSTITUTE    OF   COMMERCE 

IN   ANTWERP. 

Foundation  of  the  Association. — On  the  third  of  May,  1873,  M. 
Strauss,  a  Belgian  consul  and  a  former  student  of  the  institute,  invited 
his  fellow  alumni  to  establish  a  fraternal  and  international  union  of  the 
former  students  of  the  Superior  Institute.  He  set  forth  the  scheme  in  a 
very  interesting  discourse,  some  passages  of  which  are  well  worth 
quoting  : 

"  In  life,"  he  said,  "one  is  not  often  fortunate  enough  to  run 
across  former  school  fellows.  This  reason  would  be  sufficient  to  justify 
the  utility  of  the  society  which  I  propose  to  establish. 

"We  live  in  an  age  of  progress,  which  imposes  upon  man  the 
duty  of  educating  himself,  and  which  recognizes  the  influence  of 
connnerce  and  industry  upon  the  development  of  national  prosperity, 
and  the  welfare  of  all.  One  no  longer  judges  the  power  of  a  nation 
by  tlie  number  of  soldiers  which  it  can  put  into  the  field,  but  by  the 
perfection  of  its  industrial  equipment  and  by  its  productive  and  com- 
mercial power.  Wherever  there  is  no  foreign  commerce  there  can  be 
no  great  system  of  industry,  and  without  a  developed  industry  there 
can  be  no  great  roads  of  connnunication,  no  rapid  and  economic 
methods  of  transportation,  little  agriculture,  and  as  a  consequence  of 
all  this  there  must  l)e  general  poverty. 

"  The  men  of  1879  understood  this  fully  when  they  abolished 
the  different  castes  of  .society.  They  no  longer  wished  that  the  mer- 
chant who  devotes  his  whole  activity  to  society,  should  be  in  a  social 


183 

position  inferior  to  that  of  the  noble  who  was  ashamed  to  occupy  him- 
self with  the  material  welfare  of  the  people,  and  whose  titles  and 
wealth  were,  at  that  time,  too  often  the  result  of  war,  official  assassi- 
nation, theft 'and  authorized  robbery.  The  titled  aristocracy  which 
had  sprung  from  brute  force  had  to  be  destroyed  Ijy  brute  force. 

"  After  the  French  Revolution  the  position  of  the  merchant  and 
manufacturer  became  more  honorable,  but,  unfortiniately,  education 
and  instruction  did  not  advance  with  liberty,  and  for  half  a  century 
there  were  influential    shopkeepers,  and  but  few  or  no  true  merchants. 

"  This  unfavorable  situation  gave  Europe  and  America  a  financial 
aristocracy  more  injurious  and  more  arrogant,  if  possible,  than  the 
hereditary  nobilit)-  of  former  times.  Ignorant  rich  men  impo.sed  their 
ideas  upon  society  ;  they  believed,  as  they  still  believe  to-day,  that 
their  wealth  permitted  them  to  treat  all  economic  questions,  and  to 
determine  the  legislation  which  was  necessary  to  develop  foreign  rela- 
tions. Napoleon  the  great — a  destroyer  who  produced  nothing — 
Napoleon,  who  had  re-established  aristocracy,  granted  all  privileges 
to  these  wealthy  people,  who  believed  that  commerce  consi.sts  only  in 
buying  and  selHng  merchandise.  The  fault  of  Napoleon  has  bj^  no 
means  been  repaired.  Even  to-day  we  still  possess  a  caste  of  notable 
merchants  in  whose  ranks  one  takes  account  of  wealth,  and  disregards 
intelligence  and  education. 

'. '  However,  progress  and  modern  inventions  were  not  slow  to 
demonstrate  the  utility  of  commercial  instruction.  Thanks  to  the 
facility  of  connections,  to  the  increase  of  production,  and  to  the  mutual 
dependence  of  nations,  the  science  of  commerce  became  more  and 
more  complex.  Some  clear-sighted  men  recognized  that  business 
practice  was  sufficient  for  the  clerk,  but  that  the  merchant,  the  mana- 
ger, should  make  careful  studies,  including  the  elements  of  law, 
political  economy,  history,  commercial  geography,  raw  and  manu- 
factured products,  statistics,  tariff  legislation,  foreign  languages,  etc. 
It  was  Antwerp  which  first  had  the  honor  of  establishing  a  commer- 
cial university,  but  the  citizens  of  Antwerp,  and,  indeed,  the  Belgians 
in  general,  did  not  know  how  to  profit  by  this  advantage,  and  it  is 
the  foreigners  who  have  supported  this  institution  up  to  the  present. 
Our  merchants,  who,  for  the  most  part,  carrN-  on  the  commission  busi- 
ness, in  spite  of  the  large  capital  at  their  dis]')osal,  do  not  believe  in 
the  necessity  of  a  solid  theoretical  instruction.  They  forget  tliat 
routine  leaves  us  .stationary,  while  our  neighbors  are  making  rapid 
progress  ;  they  forget  that  commerce  is  becoming  more  and  more 
general,  and  that  to  attain  success  one  must  keep  up  with  the  pro- 
cession. To  these  men  the  honor  of  the  profession  would  ap;>ear  to' 
be  an  idle  expression  ;  the  office  is  .sufficient  to  give  the  practice  and 
chance  will  do  the  rest. 

"  These  ideas,  gentlemen,  we  must  combat.  Upon  us  rests  the 
duty  of  demonstrating  the  utility  of  higher  .studies,  and  to  strengthen 
the  reputation  of  the  institute.  The  ta.sk  is  difficult,  I  know,  but  we 
must  strive  to  perform  it.  The  end  to  be  reached  is  a  laudable  one. 
We  must  develop  the  taste  for  such  studies,  and  do  our  part  toward 
educating  the  present  generation,  so  that  later  we  may  assist  each 
other,  and  derive  the  greatest  possible  benefit  from  the  beautiful 
situation  of  Antwerp. 


184 

"  Our  commercial  policy  has  remained  on  the  same  level  as  the 
education  of  our  mercantile  classes,  that  is  to  say  a  very  low  one. 
Education  alone  can  raise  it  to  the  height  of  our  epoch  of  progress, 
and  in  this,  gentlemen,  we  need  the  aid  of  the  government.  In 
other  careers  a  certificate  of  graduation  gives  a  direct  advantage 
to  him  who  holds  it.  To  become  a  lawj-er,  a  judge,  a  phj-sician,  a 
notar}',  etc.,  one  must  have  passed  an  examination.  For  all  engineer- 
ing work  the  State  engages  only  qualified  engineers.  Why,  then, 
should  one  not  confer  substantial  advantages  upon  the  diploma  of  this 
institution  ?  Why  can  one  not  give  to  intelligence  and  instruction 
the  same  relative  advantage  in  all  superior  and  honorary  commercial 
positions.  This  question  was  raised  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago.  At 
that  time  a  reform  of  our  tribunals  and  chambers  of  commerce  were 
demanded  ;  our  consular  magistrates  were  reproached  with  their 
ignorance  of  law,  and  one  demanded  educated  judges  joining  to  the 
practice  of  business  the  necessar>^  theoretical  knowledge. 

"  In  1857  His  Excellency,  Viscount  Vilain  XIV.,  then  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  addressed  to  the  king  a  report  upon  the  con- 
sulates. He  said  that  for  the  salaried  positions  it  was  necessar>^  to 
obtain  educated  candidates,  who  had  passed  a  suitable  examination. 
'The  Superior  Institute  of  Commerce,'  said  the  minister,  'would 
form  in  time  a  most  excellent  training  school.' 

"  Gentlemen,  we  have  not  followed  the  suggestions  of  this  report, 
which  was  approved  and  served  as  the  basis  of  a  royal  ordinance  of 
1857.  Ou^  consular  body' still  continues  to  be  recruited  right  and 
left,  without  demanding  of  the  candidates  any  diploma  or  any  prelimi- 
nary preparation  whatever.  Favoritism  alone  has  ruled,  and  rules  still, 
this  career.  It  is  our  dutj'  to  work  for  the  time  when  our  salaried 
consulships  shall  be  reserved  to  the  graduates  of  the  institute,  so  that 
in  the  positions  of  the  tribunals  and  chambers  of  commerce  more  atten- 
tion shall  be  given  to  education  than  to  wealth.  We  must  prevent 
the  government  from  continviing  a  policy  condemned  bj-  economic  laws, 
as  it  has  been  influenced  and  counselled  by  a  few  rich  men  to  do. 

"You  should  name,  gentlemen,  a  committee  who  would  be 
charged  with  studying  the  questions  of  the  day,  and  to  take  necessary 
steps  to  protect  the  financial  and  industrial  interests  of  our  countr}^ 
In  the  beginning  we  may  have  but  little  influence,  but  in  the  long 
run,  with  patience  and  perseverance  we  shall  triumph." 
The  institution  thus  established  counted  on  the  seventeenth  of  August 
forty  members,  and  proceeded  to  adopt  a  set  of  statutes,  which  indicate  in 
the  following  manner  the  purposes  of  the  association  : 

First,  to  establish  among  the  members  regular  and  intimate  relations. 
Second,  to  encourage  on  their  part  commercial  enterprises. 
Third,    to  develop  a  taste  for  connnercial   studies  ;  and,   finally,  to 
encourage  the  pupils  of  the  institute  in  their  studies  b)^  putting  at  their 
di.sposition  documents  and  ])ooks  treating  of  connnercial  questions. 

Fourth,  to  establish  .scholarships  in  the  vSui)erior  Institute  of  Com- 
merce, in  favor  of  young  men  in  indigent  circumstances,  who  have  pa.s.sed 
good  intermediate  examinations. 

Fifth,  to  study  the  commercial  questions  of  current  interest. 
Sixth,  to  defend  the  rights  which  are  granted,  or  may  be  granted  to 
the  diploma. 


185 

IVor/c  of  the  Association. — From  the  first  year  of  its  existence  the 
association  was  occupied  with  a  study  of  the  questions  of  the  rij^hts  which 
were  accorded  or  were  to  be  accorded  to  tlie  diploma.  In  1876  the  gov- 
ernment decided  to  attach  a  title  to  these  documents,  and  instituted  the 
grade  of  Licentiate  in  the  Commercial  Sciences.  This  was  the  first  step, 
but  the  questions  of  the  privileges  belonging  to  it  remain  in  abeyance 
even  yet.  On  various  occasions  the  as.sociation  has  supported  the  candi- 
dacy of  its  members  for  consular  positions,  and  has  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  them  appointed.  Experience  has  demonstrated  that  the  best 
Belgian  consuls  are  those  who  have  completed  their  studies  at  the  Superior 
Institute  of  Commerce.  The  licentiates  in  the  commercial  .sciences  are 
indeed  the  only  educated  candidates  under  existing  circumstances.  But 
with  the  growing  difficulties  of  modern  commerce  a  more  practical  organi- 
zation of  the  consular  service  must  be  made,  and  consuls  must  receive  an 
education  appropriate  to  the  career.  This  question,  of  a  truly  national 
importance,  has  led  the  a.s.sociation  to  publi.sh  various  reports  upon  the 
necessity  of  a  consular  school,  annexed  to  the  Superior  School  of  Com- 
merce at  Antwerp.  It  is  proposed  to  establish  a  third  year,  where  the 
licentiate  in  the  commercial  sciences  may  prepare  himself  for  the  diploma 
of  consular  cadet. 

In  1S77,  on  occasion  of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  creation 
of  the  institute,  a  meeting  of  the  alumni  discussed  this  question  for  a  long 
time,  as  also  that  of  the  reorganization  of  certain  counses.  The  general 
improvement  of  commercial  instruction  in  all  its  details  has  been  the 
principal  object  of  the  association  itself. 

Economic  questions  have  also  been  the  object  of  numerous  discussions 
and  various  reports.  The  Alunuii  Association  of  the  Superior  Institute 
of  Commerce  obtains  all  the  government  documents  issued  by  the  various 
ministries,  and  it  is  frequently  asked  for  its  advice  by  the  government 
upon  commercial  and  maritime  questions. 

It  is  among  the  alumni  of  the  institute  that  the  most  active  members 
of  the  new  League  for  Commercial  Liberty  are  to  be  found  ;  it  became 
necessary  to  take  up  this  question  and  to  interest  the  masses  in  it.  The 
association  has  sent  petitions  to  the  chamber  of  representatives  upon  the 
monetary  question,  and  in  the  establishment  of  laws  protecting  the  impor- 
tation of  food  it  has  energetically  defended  the  principles  of  free  exchange. 

The  a.s.sociation  has  affiliations  with  the  federation  of  the  Chambers 
of  Commerce  and  various  commercial  and  industrial  societies.  Its  secre- 
tary has  been  chosen  on  different  occasions  as  assistant  secretary  of  the 
federation.  It  di.scusses  regularly  the  great  questions  of  general  interest 
which  are  from  time  to  time  the  order  of  the  day.  In  its  sessions  the 
delegates  of  the  association  have  defended  true  economic  principles.  It  has 
also  been  represented  in  national  and  international  congresses. 

At  the  international  congress  of  Commercial  Geography,  held  in 
Brussels  in  1879,  at  the  congress  of  Industry  and  Commerce,  held  in  Brus- 
sels in  1880  and  at  Liege  in  188 1  ;  at  the  international  congress  of  Educa- 
tion at  Bru.ssels  in  1882,  its  delegates  took  an  active  part.  They  introduced 
various  motions  and  secured  action  favorable  to  the  views  of  the  association. 

From  the  beginning  the  association  has  established  scholarships,  and 
to-day,  as  a  consequence  of  its  efforts,  most  of  the  committees  grant 
scholarships  to  young  men  who  demand  them.     The  aid  granted  by  the 


186 

asscKiiation  has  been  given  with  a  view  of  facilitating  the  studies  of  foreigners 
at  the  institute,  and  of  aiding  Belgian  }-ouths  to  defray  the  cost  of  living 
and  the  purchase  of  books. 

Statistics. — In  1873  the  numl^er  of  members  of  this  association  was 
40,  it  arose  to  53  in  1874-75,  5^  in  1875-76,  60  in  1876-77,  76  in  1877-78, 
80  in  1878-79,  102  in  1879-80,  127  in  1880-81,  143  in  1881-82,  154  in 
1882-83,  158  in  1883-84,  180  in  1884-85. 

Administraiioji. — The  Council  of  Administration  of  the  association 
is  composed  of  a  president,  two  vice-presidents,  two  secretaries,  a  treasurer, 
a  librarian  and  two  councillors. 

Social  and  Economic  Reports. — In  1880  it  w^as  decided  to  give  to 
members  of  the  association  residing  abroad  the  title  of  corresponding 
members  and  to  publish  a  review  of  the  reports  which  they  might  furnish. 
The  colleagues  residing  in  Belgium  assist  in  preparing  this  review,  whose 
success  is  established  by  four  years'  successful  work. 

Below  is  given  a  list  of  the  articles  appearing  in  this  review  for  tlie 
fourth  year,  in  which  many  questions  are  carefully  examined  and  well 
discussed  : 

I  St.      Portuguese  Colonies. 

2d.       Statistical  Tables  of  Queensland  in  1882. 

3d.       Some  Words  upon  the  Situation  of  the  Condition  of  Naval  Construc- 
tion in  England. 

4th.     Miscellaneous  Reports  upon   Porto  Rico,   United    States  and  th.e 
Rhine. 

5th.     Chronicle  of  the  Association. 

6th.     Commercial  Instruction. 

7th.     Future  of  the  Commerce  of  Tong-King. 

8th.     Commerce  of  the  United  States  for  the  years  1883-84. 

9th.     Portuguese  Colonies, 
loth.     Buenos  Ayres. 

nth.     The  Commercial  Movement  of  Havre  in  1883. 
12th.     The  Political  Crisis  in  the  Sugar  Question. 
13th.     The  Sufferings  of  the  Agriculturists. 
14th.     Argentine  Republic. 
15th.     Commercial  Instruction. 

1 6th.     Some  Ob.ser\^ations  upon  the  Sugar  Question. 
17th.     Petroleum  Region  of  the  Caucasus. 
1 8th.     Industrial  Chronicle. 
19th.     Customs  Duties  on  Food  Supplies. 
20th.     Study  upon  the  ICxportation  of  Ostriches. 
2 1  St.      Commercial  Instruction. 
2  2d.       Chicago. 
23d.       Buenos  Ayrcs. 
24th.     The  Agricultural  Question. 

25th.     vSonie  Consideration  on  the  Wheat  Product  of  India. 
26th.     Commercial  Instruction. 
27th.     The  Port  of  Amsterdam. 
28th.     Commercial  Needs. 
29th.     Divi.sion  of  Africa. 


1 


187 

E. 
HIGHER  COMMERCIAL  INSTRUCTION  IN  ITALY. 

SUPERIOR  SCHOOL  OF  COMMERCE  AT  VENICE. 

(Aa  Refria  Saw/a  Superiore  di  Co  mm  or  io  in   Venezia.) 


The  law  reorganizing  public  instruction  in  Italy  dates  from  the 
niontli  of  November,  1859,  ^'^"^^  divided  instruction  into  two  departments. 
The  pupils  after  having  received  the  directions  and  instruction  of  the 
first  degree  and  of  the  second  degree,  if  they  aspire  to  liberal  careers,  pass 
five  years  in  the  gymnasia  and  three  years  in  the  lycees,  from  which 
they  graduate  with  a  diploma  of  Lyceum  Licentiate,  which  admits  to  the 
higher  instruction  of  the  universities.  Those  who  intend  to  enter  com- 
merce, industry-,  agriculture  and  the  so-called  technical  professions  enter 
the  technical  schools.* 

The  pupils  who  desire  to  complete  their  technical  instruction  after 
finishing  the  technical  .schools  enter  the  technical  in.stitutes,  which  give  to 
the  pupils  of  the  commercial  .section  a  diploma  of  accounting,  giving  access 
to  the  banks  and  to  certain  government  positions.  But  from  the  point  of 
view  of  commercial  in.struction  these  establishments  of  secondarj-  education 
do  not  respond  entirely  to  the  wants  of  our  epoch,  and  owing  to  the 
development  given  to  industry  necessitating  the  extension  of  commercial 
operations,  Italy,  like  other  nations,  has  felt  the  need  of  establishing  a 
higher  industrial  and  commercial  education. 

In  1862  the  Italian  Indu.strial  Museum  was  established  at  Turin  to 
provide  for  technical  in.struction  and  the  progress  of  the  arts  and  of  com- 
merce. It  was  at  once  a  polytechnic  school,  where  instruction  was  given 
in  the  physical  and  natural  sciences,  and  a  normal  .school  for  all  the 
branches  of  technical  instruction.  At  Milan  a  Superior  Technical  Insti- 
tute was  established  as  a  sort  of  graduate  school  for  engineers  ;  at  Naples 
a  school  of  application  for  engineers  ;  at  Florence  a  superior  institute  for 
philological  and  philosophical  studies,  and  at  Genoa  a  naval  normal  .school. 

There  was  still  lacking,  in  order  to  complete  this  list,  a  superior  .school 
of  commerce  similar  to  that  at  Antwerp  and  at  Miililliau.sen.  Venice  was, 
in  a  certain  .sen.se,  .set  apart  by  its  ancient  commercial  prosperity  to  take  the 
initiative  in  this  work.  In  July,  1867,  the  Directing  Council  of  the  Tech- 
nical and  Industrial  In.stitute  and  of  the  Mercantile  Marine  presented  to 
the  Provincial  Council  of  \'enice  a  request  for  a  .subsidy.  The  promoters 
of  this  project  were  MM.  Louis  Luzzati  and  Ed,  Deodati. 

The  Provincial  Council  of  Venice  looked  upon  this  proposition  with 
favor  and  obtained  the  aid  of  the  city  and  pro\'ince  and  chambers  of  com- 
merce of  Venice.  The.se  different  bodies,  recognizing  that  .such  a  school 
was  needed,  granted  subsidies  and  named  a  Committee  of  Organization 
com]X).sed  of  ten  members. 

The  government  granted  its  aid  al.so,  gave  a  .subsidy,  and  sanctioned 
the  foundation  of  the  school,  giving  it  the  triple  character  of 

First — A  superior  institute  of  commerce  for  tho.se  young  people  who 
wished  to  perfect  them.selves  in  commercial  .studies; 

Second — A  law  faculty  for  those  candidates  looking  fonvard  to  the 
consular  career  ; 

*  Compare  T,4aiitey,  Kcolfs  de  Commerce,  p.  638. 


188 

Third — A  normal  school  to  prepare  teachers  to  instruct  in  commercial 
science  and  in  foreign  languages  in  the  technical  institutes  and  other  tech- 
nical schools. 

The  school  was  to  be  governed  by  a  Directing  Council  composed  of  t^vo 
representatives  from  each  of  the  three  co-operating  bodies  and  of  the  director 
of  the  school.  But  for  the  first  years  the  direction  was  confided  to  a  Com- 
mittee of  Organization. 

The  city  of  Venice  granted  as  a  location  the  magnificent  Foscari  palace, 
and  the  school  was  opened  in  1868  under  the  most  happy  auspices.  The 
attendance  was  ver^'  satisfactory  from  the  beginning  as  the  following  statistics 
show:  1869,  112;  1870,  136;  1871,  103;  1872,97;  1873,72;  1874,72; 
1875.  71;  1876,  76;  1877,  75;  1878,  92;  1879,  135;  1880,  130;  1881, 
126;   18S2,  132;   1883,  135;   1884,  no;   1885,  102;  1886,  109. 

During  the  scholastic  3'ears  1868-69  and  1869-70,  the  number  of  pupils 
increased  from  112  to  135,  because  at  that  time  there  existed  a  preparatory- 
course  which  enrolled  77  pupils  in  1869  and  41  in  1870.  This  preparatory- 
course  w^as  then  abolished.  The  Royal  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at 
A'enice  had  1884  pupils  in  the  eighteen  3'ears  of  its  existence  from  1869  to 
1886.  an  average  of  104 ;  the  average  since  1879  being  122.  These  figures 
are  eloquent,  and  do  all  honor  to  the  professors  of  the  school  and  their  able 
director.  Senator  Francois  Ferrara.  However,  the  school  has  not  3'et 
arrived  at  the  zenith  of  its  prosperity.  This  great  establishment  ought  to 
have  a  minimum  of  200  students  in  its  three  departments. 

CHAPTER  II. 

SUBSIDIES  ;    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   SCHOOL  ;   SCHOLARSHIPS. 

The  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Venice  receives  the  following 
subsidies : 

First.— From  the  Province  of  Venice 40,000  francs. 

Second. — From  the  City  of  Venice 10,000      " 

Third. — From  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 5, 000      " 

Fourth. — From  the  State 25,000      " 

Up  to  1872  the  last  subsidy  amounted  to  only  10,000  francs  a  year. 
The  school  has  received  numerous  gifts  and  legacies.  The  city  grants 
the  u.se  of  the  Palace  Foscari. 

The  .school  admits  regular  students  and  special  students  for  particular 
courses.  The  latter  class  may  be  admitted,  after  an  entrance  examina- 
tion, to  the  .standing  of  regular  pupils.  Up  to  1870  there  existed  at  this 
school  a  preparatory  course  of  one  year,  but  its  attendance  grew  so 
rapidl}-  at  the  expense  of  the  Technical  Institutes  that  it  was  abolished, 
which  was  a  wrong  step  in  our  opinion. 

Candidates  provided  with  a  certificate  of  the  Technical  Institute,  or 
of  an  equivalent  foreign  school,  are  exempted  from  the  entrance  examina- 
tion, which  cf)vers  Italian  language  and  literature,  geograph}',  histor>% 
arithmetic,  algebra,  physics,  natural  history,  French  language,  accounting 
and  penmansliip. 

One  may  be  admitted  directly  to  the  second  year  on  condition  of 
having  completed  his  seventeenth  year  and  passed  an  examination  upon 
the  subjects  of  the  first  year.  The  tuition  fee  is  100  francs  per  year  for 
each  course.  Students  pay  besides  a  matriculation  fee  of  25  francs.  The 
special  students  pay  15  francs  per  course  and  per  year  for  the  first  year, 
and  10  francs  for  each  succeeding  year. 


189 

The  government  grants  subsidies  and  scholarships  to  the  students 
who  distinguish  themselves  by  their  industr}-  and  success.  The  provinces 
and  the  chaml^ers  of  commerce  of  the  cities  which  send  young  men  to 
the  school  at  Venice  also  grant  numerous  scholarships. 


CHAPTER    III. 

INSTRUCTION  ;    DIVISION    OF   STUDIES  ;    PROGRAM. 

The  Superior  School  of  Commerce  at  Venice  is  divided  into  three 
sections,  in  each  of  which  a  regular  curriculum  is  pursued. 

The  first  section  prepares  >oung  men  for  the  commercial  professions 
and  trains  them  for  commercial  life  with  success  and  profit.  It  is  called 
the  Commercial  Section  and  its  curriculum  is  three  years  in  length. 

The  second  section  trains  5'oung  men  for  the  ministry  of  foreign 
affairs  and  prepares  them  for  the  consular  careers.  It  is  known  as  the  Law 
Section  and  its  course  covers  five  years. 

The  third  section,  called  the  Normal  Section,  is  intended  to  prepare 
teachers  for  commercial  schools.     It  is  divided  into  four  classes  : 

First — An  administrative  class — the  studj^  of  political  econom>-  and 
statistics. 

Second — A  class  in  accounting. 

Third — A  class  for  the  study  of  raw  materials  and  commercial 
products. 

Fourth — A  class  in  foreign  languages. 

The  courses  of  the  first  and  fourth  classes  are  five'years  in  lengtli  : 
those  of  the  second  and  third  are  onlj-  four.  The  courses  f  the  /rst 
year  are  common  to  all  the  pupils,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  are 
preparing  for  the  normal  classes  in  foreign  languages,  as  this  last  section 
is  completely  distinct  from  the  others  ;  the  pupils  who  compose  it  follow 
special  courses.  At  the  beginning  of  the  second  year  the  pupils  who 
do  not  take  part  in  the  special  course  of  languages  must  choose  between 
the  commercial,  the  consular  and  the  normal  section.  Those  who  desire 
to  enter  the  last  section  must  then  declare  for  what  special  branch  of  com- 
mercial instruction  they  wish  to  prepare  themselves,  and  according  to  their 
choice  they  are  divided  into  the  classes  of  administration,  accounting  and 
the  study  of  commercial  products. 

The  General  Programs  of  the  Courses. 
Course  of  the  First  Year. 


Section  for  all  the  pupils. 
Italian  Literature. 

Normal  section  of  languages. 
Italian  literature. 

Commercial  Geography. 

Accounting. 

Algebra. 

French  language. 

French  language.    |  ^^  ^^^^  ^,^^.^^  ^^  ^^^^ 
Knghsh  language.                           -j 
German  language.  J                ^  ^ 

German  language. 
Introduction  into  the  study 

of 

commercial 

products. 
Institutions  of  confmerce. 

Notions  of  civil  law. 

English  language. 
Penmanship. 

190 

Course  of  the  Second  Year. 


Consular  Section. 

Normal  Section. 

Commercial  Section. 

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Italian  literature 

Commercial  geography  .... 
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Id. 
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Id. 
Id. 

Id. 
Id. 

Id. 

Id. 

Id. 

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 

Commercial      and      Industrial 
Arithmetic      

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 

French  language 

German  language 

English  language 

Study  of  commercial  products 
Commercial  and  maritime  law 
Comtnercial   bureau 

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 

Id.  1     At  the 
Id.  j-    choice 
Id.  J  of  pupil. 

Id. 
Id 
Id. 

Penmanship -.    . 

Civil  law. 
Private  Inter- 
national law. 
One  oriental 

language. 

Id 

• 

Course  of  the    Third  Year. 


Consular  Section. 

Normal  Section. 

Comrnercial  Sectiou. 

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Italian  literature 

German  language 

Knglish  language 

French  language 

Commercial  and  Industrial  law 
Stndy  of  commercial  products 

History  of  commerce 

Commercial  statistics 

Political  economy 

Commercial  bureau 

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
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ComnitTcial  arithmetic  .... 

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Civil  and  pri- 
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national law. 
One  oriental 
language. 

Civil 

bureau. 

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191 


Course  of  the  Fourth  Year. 


Consular  Section. 

Class  in  Adminis- 
tration. 

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Exercises 

in  language 

and  the 

study  of 
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French  language 

English  or  German 

Diplomatic  and  political  history 

Theoretical  statistics 

Public  international  law    .    .    . 

Criminal  law 

Constitutional  law 

Judicial  procedure 

One  oriental  language    .... 

Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 
Id 
Id. 
Id. 
Id. 

Exercises  in 
languages, 
accounting, 

and  the 
commercial 

bureau. 

One  language 
at  the  choice 
of  pupil. 
Pupils  are 
trained  in  giv- 
ing lessons 
under  the 
direction  of 
the  professor. 

Course  of  (he  F if  ill  Year. 


CoiiSHlar  Section. 


Diplomatic  and  political 
history 

One  oriental  language. 

ICxercises  preparatory  to 
the  consular  examina- 
tion prescribed  by  the 
Ministry  of  P^^oreign  Af- 
airs. 


Class  of  Administration 


Id. 

Exercises  preparatory  to 
the  examination  pre- 
scribed by  the  Minis- 
try of  Agriculture,  In- 
dustry and  Commerce. 


Class  of  Languages. 


Pupils  give  lessons  in  the 
other  sections. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EXAMINATION.S  ;    REWARDS  ;    PUNISHMENTS. 

No  one  is  admitted  to  thi.s  school  except  after  passing  an  entrance 
examination,  unless  he  posse.sses  a  diploma  granted  by  the  Technical 
iu.stitiite,  or  a  school  of  equal  rank.  Upon  leaving  the  .school  the  pupils 
receive  certificates  of  having  completed  the  courses.  Diplomas  are  given 
t')  sttidents  in  the  commercial  .section  at  the  end  of  three  years  ;  in  the 
section  of  accounting  and  of  the  study  of  commercial  products  at  the  end 
of  four  years  ;  in  the  consular,  administrative  and  language  sections  at  the 
end  of  five  years. 

The  pupils  of  the  normal  section  receive,  moreover,  upon  the  pay- 
ment of  loo  francs  a  certificate  of  fitness  to  teach.  The  pupils  who 
distinguish  themselves  in  the  cour.sc  receive  also  grants  of  money. 

The  means  of  discipline  are  :  the  return  of  any  paper  which  has  been 
jK)orly  done  ;  warning  ;  temporary  exclusion  ;  exclusion  from  examina- 
tion ;  exchtsion  from  the  session  ;  and  final  exclusion  from  the  .school. 

The  pupils,  graduating  from  the  commercial  section,  are  ver^^  well 
trained  ;  all  commercial  careers  are  open  to  thena.  Those  who  graduate 
from  the  consular  section  have  been  allowed,  since  1870,  to  compete  for 


192 

consular  positions.  Formerly  a  certificate  of  university  studies  and  a 
diploma  of  licentiate  of  law  were  demanded.  The  pupils  in  the  normal 
section  are,  upon  graduation  from  this  school,  eligible  to  appointment  as 
teachers.  They  are  appointed  immediately  upon  graduation,  if  there  are 
vacant  professorships.  If  not  they  easily  find  employment  in  the  various 
ministries  or  other  departments  of  public  administration. 

About  fifteen  per  cent  of  the  pupils  fail  to  pass  the  final  examination, 
and  obtain  no  diploma.  This  figure  must  be  considered  very  satisfactory 
in  view  of  the  length  of  the  course  and  the  severity  of  the  examination. 


CHAPTER  V. 

GOVERNMENT  ;   RECEIPTS  ,*   EXPENSES  ;     PERSONNEL. 

The  Superior  School  of  Commerce  in  Venice  is  governed  by  a  Direct- 
ing Council,  composed  as  follows  : 

First. — A  president  and  vice-president,  appointed  by  the  province. 

Second. — Two  delegates  chosen  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Third. — Two  delegates  cho.sen  by  the  Municipal  Council. 

Fourth. — Two  delegates  appointed  by  the  government. 

Fifth. — One  director  named  by  the  Directing  Council. 

Sixth. — One  secretary  and  a  vice-secretary. 

The  tuition  fees  and  the  .subsidies  are  sufficient  to  cover  the  annual 
expenses  of  the  school.  The  professors  are  paid  from  3000  to  7000  francs. 
Since  1873  the  government  is  represented  in  the  council  of  the  school  by 
two  delegates.  The  appointments,  suspensions  and  removals  of  pro- 
fessors have  been  reserved  to  it  from  that  period.  The  school  has  eighteen 
professors  and  two  assistants.  It  is  only  after  three  years'  work  that  the 
instructors  receive  the  title  of  professors. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

GENERAL   CONSIDERATIONS. 

The  Superior  vSchool  of  Commerce  at  Venice  is  a  prosperous  establi.sh- 
ment.  The  grade  of  the  work  has  been  rai.sed  from  j-ear  to  year,  and  the 
results  have  been  very  advantageous  to  Italian  commerce  ;  Venice  itself 
spares  no  labor  in  aiding  the  development  of  this  in.stitution.  The  subsidy 
of  the  government  should  be  increased.  The  school  has  a  very  fine 
museum  of  commercial  products  and  a  large  library,  for  the  support  of 
which  2000  francs  are  set  apart  in  the  budget  of  the  school. 

The  provinces,  the  cities,  the  various  chambers  of  commerce  follow 
the  example  of  the  government  and  grant  subsidies  to  the  school.  But 
that  which  would  be  better  than  subsidies  would  be  for  Italian  mer- 
chants to  select  their  clerks  from  the  pupils  of  their  own  .schools  of 
commerce,  and  not  to  prefer  German  to  Italian  clerks.  In  Italy,  as  in 
France,  there  is  no  lack  of  criticism  of  connnercial  in.struction,  and  to  be 
logical  one  ought  not  to  employ  foreigners  who  have  received  their  educa- 
tion in  such  scliools.  We  should  give  then  the  .same  advice  to  Italian 
merchants  as  to  I'Vench  :  "Take  an  interest,  gentlemen,  in  your  commer- 
cial .schools,  nnilti])ly  them,  and  give  tlie  preference  to  their  graduates 
over  tho.se  of  foreign  schools." 


193 

In  spite  of  prejudices  the  example  given  by  Venice  has  been  followed, 
and  new  schools  of  commerce  have  been  established  in  various  cities  of 
Italy,  The  future  of  these  schools  seems  to  us  assured,  provided  thej- 
give  a  really  professional  character  to  their  instruction. 

In  1875  a  committee  of  employment  was  established  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Directing  Council,  in  order  to  aid  the  graduates  of  the 
school  in  finding  positions.  This  conunittee  selected  as  its  director  the 
president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Venice.  It  is  composed  of 
the  members  of  the  Directing  Council  and  the  professors  of  the  school. 
The  success  of  the  committee  has  been  marked ;  up  to  tlie  present  no 
graduate  of  the  school  has  failed  to  find  a  position  worthy  of  his  education. 

The  new  kingdom  of  Italy  has  encouraged  the  development  of  educa- 
tion and  educational  institutions  in  a  thorough  and  systematic  way.  It 
has  not  altogether  neglected  the  field  of  commercial  education,  though  it 
has  not  done  as  much  along  this  line  of  training  as  in  others.  The  school 
at  Florence,  with  a  two-years'  course,  was  organized  in  i.Syy  ;  while  that 
at  Turin  was  organized  in  1856,  by  Jean-Joseph  Garnier,  who  came  from 
the  Superior  School  of  Commerce  in  Paris.  The  school  at  Genoa,  founded 
in  1883,  is  one  of  the  best  equipped  and  most  promising  of  all  the  Italian 
.schools.  There  are  also  such  schools  in  several  other  of  tlie  leading  cities  of 
Italy,  such  as  Naples  and  Rome  and  some  smaller  places. 


»I 


194 

F. 

HIGHER  COMMERCIAL   INSTRUCTION    IN   ENGLAND. 


This  subject  can  unfortunately  be  disposed  of  in  a  very  few  pages. 
It  is  not  far  from  the  truth  to  say  that  there  is  no  such  instruction  given  in 
England  at  all,  at  least  such  thorough,  systematic  and  advanced  instruction 
as  would  justify  our  putting  it  in  the  same  category-  as  that  of  France, 
Austria  or  Germany.  It  is  in  this  department  as  in  so  man}-  others.  The 
genius  of  the  people — so  eminentl}'  commercial — the  favorable  situation  of 
the  country-  and  the  many  other  circumstances  which  have  combined  to 
put  England  at  the  very  head  of  connnercial  nations,  have  also 
seemed  at  first  to  dispense  with  the  necessity  of  giving  time  and  labor  to 
systematic  school  preparation  for  such  occupations.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  many  unfavorable  circumstances  which  have  combined  to  prevent  the 
growth  of  commerce  and  industry  in  Germany,  F'rance  and  Austria  have 
brought  these  nations  to  a  recognition  of  the  fact  that  thorough  education 
along  all  these  lines  was  the  only  hope  of  their  being  able  to  compete 
with  England  at  all.  The  result  has  been  what  might  l^ave  been  expected. 
Owing  to  the  .superior  education  and  training  of  her  3-outh,  Germany  liai> 
been  steadily  dimini.shing  the  disadvantages  of  her  position  and  English 
merchants  are  now  awaking  to  the  fact,  not  only  that  German  trade  is 
increasing  more  rapidly  than  English,  but  that  even  the  trade  of  England 
herself  is  passing  into  the  hands  of  German  merchants  who  have  settled 
in  London.  In  a  word,  education  is  producing  its  legitimate  results  in 
this  as  in  other  fields,  and  the  extracts  from  English  writers  on  the  subject 
which  follow  will  serve  to  .show  that  England  is  now  waking  up  to  the 
necessity  of  providing  for  in.struction  and  training  along  these  lines. 

One  of  the  best  evidences  of  this  fact  is  to  be  found  in  Sir  Philip 
Magnus'  work  on  industrial  education,  in  which  an  entire  chapter  is 
devoted  to  this  subject  of  mercantile  training. 

"The  que.stion  of  how  best  to  suit  our  sy.steni  of  educational 
machinery  to  the  requirements  of  .social  life  and  the  additions,  if  any,  that 
should  be  made  to  it,  is  now  engaging  the  serious  attention  of  merchants, 
manufacturers,  teachers  and  .statesmen.  The  importance  of  the  question 
is  no  loMger  doubted,  and  discussions  of  the  subject  are  invited,  wdth  a 
view  of  eliciting  the  opinions  of  persons  who,  b}-  their  own  knowledge 
and  experience,  are  able  to  contribute  to  the  .solution  of  what  mu.st  be 
regarded  as  a  problem  of  national  importance. -■' 

"  To  this  end  an  important  conference  was  held  under  the  aus})ices 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  on  November  23,  1887,  when  Sir  John 
Lubbock,  who  was  especially  qualified  to  .speak  on  this  subject,  delivered 
a  very  suggestive  address,  in  which  he  pointed  out  many  reasons  which 
prevent  our  cliildren  from  obtaining  in  our  secondary  schools,  as  at  present 
organized,  the  preliminary  training  which  might  best  j^rcpare  them  for 
practical  and  connnercial  pursuits. 

"  He  was  fallowed  by  Dr.  Percival,  who  rightly   said  : 

"  'The  true  educational  method  for  an  industrial  and  commercial 

]Kjpulation  like  ours,  is  to  fix  our  attention,  far  more  than  hitherto, 

*  Sec  Indusltutl  tutuiation,  hv  Sii  Philip  MaK'nu.     \,ljjndon,  Kcfiii'i  Hull.  Ttrntli  t**  Co.)     Chapter 
III.   Meiianltle  training.     Schouh  uj  iommeue. 


195 

on  the  practical  needs  of  our  population,  also  to  endeavor  to  liberalize 
what  we  call  the  practical  studies,  and  to  dismiss  once  for  all  the  old 
world  idea  that  studies  which  have  a  practical  bearing  on  the  needs 
of  boys  growing  up  in  our  schools,  somehow  lose  their  humanizing 
qualities.  The  development  of  our  trade  and  commerce  may  be  said 
to  depend  on  knowing  not  only  how  to  produce,  at  least  cost,  what 
is  most  wanted,  but  also  how  to  buy  and  to  sell  to  the  greatest  advan- 
tage. We  may  take  it  for  granted  that  tlie  full  benefits  of  technical 
instruction  will  fail  to  be  realized,  unless  opportunities  are  afforded 
by  which  our  youths  may  obtain  that  special  kind  of  training  which 
is  calculated  to  make  them  good  business  men. ' 

"  The  economy  of  production  is  closely  associated  with  that  of  dis- 
tribution in  the  machinery  of  commerce,  and  the  connection  between  the 
factory  and  the  merchant's  office  is  very  intimate,  and  tends  daily  to 
become  more  so.  Tlie  progress  of  science  is  gradually  converting  the 
factory  into  a  laboratory,  in  wdiich  raw  materials  are  altered  in  substance 
and  form,  and  the  success  of  productive  industry  depends  on  the  skill 
and  ingenuity  with  which  this  process  of  conversion  is  carried  on.  But 
mercantile  success  depends  not  only  upon  the  skill  and  ingenuity  shown 
in  the  production  of  goods,  but  also  on  the  care  exercised  in  the  purchase 
of  the  material  emplo3ed,  and  on  the  special  knowledge  and  ability 
developed  in  the  sale  of  the  manufactured  products.  The  highest  techni- 
cal knowledge  might  be  employed  in  producing  goods  for  wdiich  there 
was  no  demand,  and,  as  has  frequently  happened,  for  which  the  demand 
had  ceased  and  commerce  thereby  would  not  be  advanced.  And  goods 
might  be  produced,  excellent  in  quality,  but  unsalable  except  at  a  loss  at 
places  already  fully  supplied.  What  is  needed  for  the  development  of 
commerce  is  not  only  the  facult}'  of  production,  but  also  of  distribution. 
The  market  is  a  necessarj^  adjunct  of  the  factory, 

' '  A  consideration  of  the  kind  of  training  which  is  be.st  calculated  to 
fit  a  person  to  buy  and  sell  and  to  engage  in  any  of  the  operations, 
including  banking,  connected  with  the  \vork  of  distributing  and  of 
bringing  home  to  the  consumer  the  products  of  industry,  is  the  problem 
of  commercial  education. 

' '  The  questions  of  technical  and  commercial  education  are  also 
closely  associated,  though  it  is  difficult  to  consider  them  except  in  con- 
nection with  each  other.  Speaking  generally,  technical  education  may 
be  said  to  have  reference  to  the  work  of  production,  and  commercial  edu- 
cation to  that  of  distribution.  But  as  the  character  of  the  goods  produced 
by  the  manufacturer  nmst  depend,  to  a  great  extent,  upon  the  ta.stes  and 
requirements  of  the  consumers  ;  these  should  be  ascertained  by  those 
engaged  in  the  work  of  distribution. 

"  Mercantile  success  may  be  regarded  as  the  function  of  two  factors  ; 
one  of  which  has  reference  to  the  skill  di.splayed  in  the  process  of  manu- 
facture, and  the  other  to  the  activity  and  economy  shown  in  bringing  the 
products  of  industry  into  the  hands  of  the  consumers. 

"  Hitherto  the  institutes  considered  the  question  of  technical  educa- 
tion, and  the  closely  allied  question  of  commercial  education  has  remained 
somewhat  in  the  background. 

"  The  progress  which  has  been  made,  during  the  last  few  \'ears.  in 
providing  the  necessary  .supplementary  education  for  persons  engaged  in 
productive  indu.stry,  is,  on   the  whole    .satisfactory,  and  the  time  has  now 


196 

come  for  considering  the  kind  of  training  which  is  needed  for  }ouiig  per- 
sons preparing  for  a  mercantile  career. 

"The  altered  conditions  under  which  trade  is  now  carried  on,  have 
given  to  the  solution  of  this  problem  a  new%  and  until  recently,  a  not  suf- 
ficiently recognized  importance.  The  application  of  science  to  the  means 
of  locomotion  and  communication  has  changed  many  of  the  essential 
features  of  the  geography  of  fifty  years  ago. 

"  Distant  countries  are  now  closely  united  by  the  swift  ocean  steam- 
ers, by  the  network  of  rails,  and  by  telegraphic  wires.  This  develop- 
ment of  scientific  applications  to  the  means  of  transit  and  communication 
is,  perhaps,  a  revolution  in  the  system  of  commerce,  the  effect  of  which 
we  are  only  gradually  coming  to  realize.  It  has  intensified  the  severity 
of  competition  betw'een  different  countries.  It  has  diminished  the  value 
of  the  raw  material  in  relation  to  that  of  the  manufactured  product.  It 
has  lessened  the  difficulties  due  to  natural  resources.  It  has  narrowed  the 
margin  of  profit,  necessitating  the  exercise  of  the  greatest  economy  in  the 
management  of  the  mercantile  department  or  manufacturing  business,  and 
is  most  vigilant  in  securing  the  advantages  of  differences  of  exchange  and 
in  searching,  wdierever  they  maj' be  found,  for  new  and  promising  markets. 
"Though  we  hear,  as  we  often  do,  successful  manufacturers  and 
merchants  speak  discouragingly  of  the  importance  of  commercial  educa- 
tion, and  tell  us  how,  entering  into  the  factor\'  or  office  at  an  early  age. 
they  there  acquired  the  practical  experience  to  which  they  ascribe  their 
fortune,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  such  men  overlook  the  fact  that  the  con- 
ditions under  which  trade  is  now  carried  on  are  wholly  different  from  what 
they  were  fifty  years  ago.  And  it  is  owing  to  this  difference  that  a 
different  and  special  kind  of  training  has  become  indispensable.  No  one 
can  contemplate  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  during  the  present 
half  century,  without  realizing  their  leveling  influence  upon  the  develop- 
ment of  commerce,  and  the  growing  importance,  as  a  factor  of  mercantile 
success,  of  that  wider  knowledge  which  enables  those  engaged  in  commerce 
to  understand  and  to  take  advantage  of  all  favorable  conditions  in  the 
conduct  of  business  operations. 

"The  merchant's  vision  must  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own 
town  or  countr>'.  His  observation  must  be  widened  so  that  literally  he 
may  be  able  to  survey  man's  mind  from  China  to  Peru.  The  range  of 
his  markets  is  continually  extending,  and  his  knowledge  should  be 
co-extensive  with  the  area  of  his  transactions.  The  success,  which  owing 
to  our  natural  resources,  attended  our  early  efforts  to  apply  some  power 
to  productive  industry,  produced  a  feeling  of  over-confidence  among  our 
people  and  led  us  to  disregard  a  connection  which  ought  to  exist  between 
school  training  and  the  business  of  life,  while  the  business  circum.stances 
of  other  countries  resulted  in  an  earlier  recognition  of  this  important 
relation.  For  this  reason,  technical  and  commercial  .schools  were  estab- 
lished abroad  many  years  before  the  necessity  for  their  creation  was 
realized  in  this  country.  But  the  leveling  influences  of  scientific  progress, 
to  whicli  I  have  referred,  have  placed  us  at  a  comparative  disadvantage 
with  other  countries,  or  rather  have  lessened  the  advantages  we  formerly 
possessed  on  account  of  our  natural  resources,  and  have  made  it  impera- 
tively necessary  that  we  should  seek  compensation  in  the  endeavor  to  reap 
all  the  benefit  we  can  from  the  improved  and  adequate  education  of  our 
industrial  classes. 


197 

"That  our  own  school  system  does  not  offer  the  requisite  training  to 
enable  our  youths  to  compete  on  equal  terms  with  the  youths  of  other  coun- 
tries, especially  of  Germany,  is  shown  by  such  evidence  as  may  be  found  in 
the  reports  of  the  commissioners  on  Technical  Instruction  of  the  department 
of  trade  and  industry,  as  well  as  in  the  reports  of  several  of  our  consuls  in 
different  parts  of  the  world.  From  tliese  documents  it  appears  that  it  is 
mainly  owing  to  German  competition  that  our  foreign  trade  is  shrinking, 
and  it  is  in  Germany  that  the  most  abundant  provision  has  been  made  for 
the  complete  educational  equipment  of  young  persons  who  are  engaged  in 
mercantile  pursuits.  The  commissioners  tell  us  that  the  increasing 
severity  of  this  competition  both  in  our  home  and  neutral  markets,  is 
especially  noticeable  in  the  case  of  Germany,  and  in  every  quarter  of  the 
world  the  perseverance  and  enterprise  of  the  Germans  are  making  them- 
selves felt.  In  the  actual  production  of  commodities  we  have  few  if  any 
advantages  over  them,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  markets  of  the  world, 
the  desire  to  accommodate  all  local  tastes  and  idiosyncrasies,  a  determina- 
tion to  obtain  a  footing  wherever  they  can  and  the  tenacity  in  retaining 
it,  they  appear  to  be  gaining  ground  upon  us. 

"  This  advance  of  German  trade  does  not  appear  to  be  owing  to  any 
falling  off  in  the  efficiency  of  the  British  workmen,  but  solely  to  the 
sui)erior  fitness  of  the  Germans,  due  exclusively  to  the  more  systematic 
training  they  receive  for  mercantile  pursuits.  The  commissioners  tell  us 
that  whilst  in  respect  to  certain  classes  of  products  the  reputation  of  our 
workmanship  does  not  stand  as  high  as  it  formerly  did,  those  who  have 
had  personal  experience  of  the  comparative  efficiency  of  labor  carried  on 
under  the  conditions  which  prevail  in  this  country  and  foreign  countries, 
appear  to  incline  to  the  view  that  the  English  workman,  notwithstanding 
his  shorter  hours  and  higher  wages,  is  to  be  preferred.  They  further  state 
that  in  the  matter  of  education,  we  seem  to  be  particularly  deficient  as  com- 
pared with  some  of  our  foreign  competitors,  and  this  remark  applies  not 
only  to  what  is  called  "  technical  education,"  but  to  the  ordinary  commer- 
cial education  which  is  required  in  mercantile  houses,  and  especially  the 
knowledge  of  foreign  languages. 

"The  reconnnendation  of  the  commissioners  that  Her  Majesty's 
consular  and  diplomatic  officers  should  be  instructed  to  report  any  informa- 
tion which  appears  to  them  of  interest  as  soon  as  they  obtain  it,  and  that 
it  should  be  as  promptl}^  published  at  home  when  received,  has  resulted 
in  the  publication  of  a  series  of  reports  which  fully  bear  out  the  conclusion 
at  which  the  conunissioners  have  arrived  in  regard  to  the  deficiencies  of 
our  commercial  education  ;  to  the  activity  displayed  by  persons  in  the 
search  of  new  markets  and  the  readiness  of  manufacturers  abroad  to 
accommodate  their  products  to  local  tastes  and  peculiarities. 

"In  several  of  the  reports  recently  published,  attention  has  been 
called  to  the  importance  to  this  country  of  possessing  an  army  of  commer- 
cially trained  agents,  who  shall  be  able  to  discover  foreign  markets,  to 
inform  English  manufacturers  in  regard  to  the  requirements  of  these 
markets,  and  to  follow  the  style  of  home-made  goods. 

' '  Many  statements  might  be  made  to  show  that  our  trade  with  foreign 
countries  is  distinctly  suffering  in  consequence  of  the  want  of  commercial 
knowledge  and  activity  among  our  commercial  classes.  At  home  the  pinch 
of  competition  is  equally  felt,  and  is  due  partly  to  the  same  cause.  The 
answers  to  a  circular  addressed  bv  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce  to 


198 

the  leading  city  houses  Have  shown  the  extent  to  which  foreign  clerks  are 
employed  by  commercial  firms  in  London,  and  also,  what  is  less  flattering 
to  us,  the  reason  for  the  preference  shown  for  them. 

"It  appears  that  thirty-five  per  cent  of  the  firms  replying  to  the 
circular,  employ  foreign  clerks,  and  that  less  than  one  per  cent  of  English 
clerks  are  able  to  correspond  in  any  foreign  language.  From  several  of 
the  ansvv'ers  received,  it  also  appears  that  preference  is  given  to  foreigners 
on  account  of  their  generally  superior  education,  and  of  their  special 
qualifications  for  general  work.  According  to  man^-  of  the  witnesses  the 
foreigner  is  at  present  the  better  all-round  man  ;  better  equipped,  both 
with  the  special  technical  knowledge  of  his  particular  industry  and  witli 
the  wider  culture  which  enables  him  to  adapt  his  knowledge  and  his 
training  to  the  varj-ing  demands  of  modern  connuerce. 

"  Now,  not  only  is  the  recognition  of  this  fact  somewhat  humiliatnig 
to  us  as  a  nation,  but  the  fact  itself  serves  to  explain  some  of  the  causes 
of  the  success  of  foreign  competition  of  which  we  complain.  In  the  first 
place,  every  foreigner  employed  in  an  English  firm  displaces  an  English- 
man wdio  might,  and  would  be,  employed  if  only  he  w^ere  properly 
educated.  Moreover,  many  of  these  foreign  clerks  after  having  learned 
what  they  can  as  regards  our  manufactures,  our  markets  and  modes  of 
conducting  business,  return  to  their  native  land  to  utilize  that  knowledge 
as  our  competitors  and  rivals.  And  even  of  those  who  remain  here  and 
establish  new  firms,  a  large  number,  naturally,  show  a  preference  for  the 
foreign  manufacturers  with  whom  they  stand  in  relation,  and  from  whom 
they  obtain  goods  for  the  suppl}'  of  the  markets  in  which  they  deal. 

"  The  English  Society  of  Arts  has  arranged  for  examinations  in  com- 
mercial geography  and  in  other  subjects  useful  to  the  commercial  student, 
but  of  late  no  examinations  have  been  held  in  commercial  geography,  as 
only  twenty-five  pupils,  not  from  one  centre  onh%  but  from  the  entire 
kingdom,  have  presented  themselves.  Nothing  perhaps  could  show  more 
strongly  the  total  neglect  of  commercial  education  in  Great  Britain. 

"  On  leaving  the  elementary  school  the  great  majority  of  children  go 
at  once  into  the  office,  factory  or  shop  ;  a  few  continue  their  education  in 
some  higher  school.  For  both  of  these  classes  a  special  training  is 
desirable  if  they  are  to  be  occupied  with  commercial  pursuits.  For  those 
who  leave  school  at  an  early  age  continuation  classes  are  indispensable,  if 
the  greater  amount  of  the  national  outlay  on  education  is  not  to  be  lost. 
I  have  known  numerous  instances  in  which  lads  of  eighteen  and  twenty 
years  of  age  have  been  unable  to  avail  themselves  of  the  instruction  given 
in  the  technical  and  .scientific  classes  now  established,  in  consequence  of 
their  having  forgotten  the  little  they  had  learned  in  .school." 

COMMKRCI.\L    CKRTIFICATK.S. 

"The  comparative  neglect  of  commercial  education  is,  by  some 
persons,  held  to  be  attributable  to  the  circumstance  that  the  examining 
bodies  offer  no  encouragement  in  the  form  of  systematic  examinations. 
Consequently,  the  school  authorities  took  up  .subjects  for  which  certificates 
were  obtainable.  It  is  probably  nearer  the  truth  to  .say  that  until  recently 
there  have  been  practically  no  demands  for  connnercial  certificates. 
Doubtless,  we  owe  the  new  certificates  to  the  keen  competition  to  which 


199 

the  commercial  industries  are  now  subjected.  But  to  be  of  real  ser\-ice, 
commercial  education  must  have  for  its  basis  sound  general  education,  and 
if  to  this  is  added  a  more  thorough  acquaintance  with  modern  languages, 
commercial  geography  and  arithmetic,  the  new  acquisition  must  prove 
invaluable  to  those  who  intend  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  promotion  of 
the  great  industries  which  have  contributed  so  largely  in  making  the 
British  nation  what  it  is."* 

The  London  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  issued  a  scheme  of  subjects 
of  examination  for  commercial  certificates. 

I.  The  subjects  for  junior  students  up  to  the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen 
and  for  senior  students  from  sixteen  to  nineteen  are  as  follows  ; 
Obligatory. 

ist.  Knglisli,  including  handwriting,  orthography,  granunar  and  com- 
position. 

2d.  Commercial  History  of  the  British  Isles,  colonies  and  dependencies  ; 
Geography,  including  the  elements  of  physical  geography,  and 
ordinary  geographj^  with  special  reference  to  commerce  and 
industry. 

3d.  Arithmetic,  including  a  general  knowledge  of  foreign  weights, 
measures,  currencies  and  exchanges. 

4th.  Algebra,  including  quadratic  equations,  Euclid,  books  I. -III.  ICle- 
mentary  Mechanics. 

5th.     Bookkeeping  and  accounts. 

6th.  A  modern  foreign  language  ;  one  of  the  following  :  {a)  French,  {b) 
German,  {c)  Spanish,  (af)  Portuguese,  or  {e)  Italian,  comprising 
translation,  composition,  dictation  and  conversation. 

7th.     Elementary  drawing  (free-hand,  geometrical  or  designing). 

Optio7ial. — One,  at  least,  of  the  following  must  be  taken.      If  Latin  is 

chosen,  then  one  other  subject  must  also  be  taken  : 

I  St.      Mechanics  and  hydro.statics  (a  higher  knowledge). 

2d.       Shorthand  (any  system). 

3d.  Drawing  (advanced,  free-hand  and  model  or  designing,  or  mechani- 
cal or  geometrical  drawing). 

4lh.     Chemistry  (theoretical  and  practical). 

5th.     Sound,  light  and  heat. 

6th.     Electricity  and  magnetism. 

7th.  Knowledge  of  the  connnercial  value  of  the  following  :  Elements  of 
botany,  zoology,  geolog}'  and  physiology. 

8th.  One  or  more  of  the  modern  foreign  languages  not  taken  as  an 
obligatory  subject. 

f  th.     Latin  as  the  second  optional  subject. 

(Examination  takes  place  at  the  College  of   Preceptors   during    tlie 

first  week  of  July. ) 

II.  No  senior  examination  has  as  yet  taken  place,  but  it  is  propo.sed 
to  hold  one  in  the  near  future,  of  which  the  following  will  be  the  subjects  : 

Obligatory. 
ist.      Foreign  languages  ;  any   two  of  the  following  :    (a)   French,    ((^) 

German,  (r)  Spanish,  (^/ )  Portuguese,  or  (r)  Italian. 
2d.       Mathematics. 
3d.       Commercial  geography. 
4th.     Commercial  lii.story. 

*  Educational  Annual.     George  Philip  &  Son.     T.oiiclon,  rSg:. 


200 

Optional. — I,atin,  and  one  from  each  of  the  following  groups,  or  three 
from  any  one  of  them  : 

Group  A. 
I  St.      Commerce. 

2d.       Commercial  and  industrial  law. 
3d.       Banking  and  insurance. 

Group  B. 
I  St.      Mechanics  and  hydrostatics. 
2d.       Phj'sics. 
3d.       Chemistry. 
4th.     Mineralogy  and  petrology. 
5th.     Metallurgy. 
6th.     Botany. 
7th.     Zoology. 

8th.     Microscopical  examinations. 

9th.     Drawing  (free-hand  or  geometrical,  or  mechanical,  or  designing,  or 
photography). 

After  passing  this  examination  the  youth  will  receive  a  higher  com- 
mercial certificate,  on  which  will  be  entered  the  subjects  in  which  he  has 
passed,  and  those  in  which  he  has  particularly  distinguished  himself.  It 
is  also  proposed  to  grant  separate  certificates  for  proficienc}'  in  each  subject 
for  candidates  who  may  not  present  themselves  for  the  general  examination. 

The  Oxford  and  Cambridge  schools  examining  boards  have  also  insti- 
tuted examinations  for  commercial  certificates.  The  first  examination 
took  place  in  1888,  and  until  further  notice  the  examinations  will  continue 
to  be  held  in  July  and  December  respectively. 

The  subjects  of  examination  of  the  Oxford  delegacy  and  the  Cam- 
bridge syndicate  are  intended  to  be  identical,  but  as  there  is  some  slight 
diiference  in  the  descriptions  which  have  been  published,  both  statements 
are  given  below : 

Cambridge. 

I.      I,  Latin  ;  2,  French  ;  3,  German  ;  4,  vSpanish  ;  5,  Italian. 
II.      I,  Mathematics. 

III.  I,  English  ;  2,  Commercial  History  of  the  British  Isles  and  Colo- 

nies, including  Geography  ;  3,   English  History  ;  4,   Political 
Economy. 

IV.  1,   Drawing;   2,   Inorganic  Chemistry;   3,   Organic  Chemistry;   4, 

Mechanics,  including  Hydrostatics  and  Pneumatics. 
V.      I,   Electricity;  2,   Magnetism. 
VI.     Sound,  Eight  and  Heat. 

Candidates  must  satisfy  the  examiners,  first,  in  one  of  the  four  lan- 
guages from  2  to  5  in  Group  I.,  and  in  Group  III.,  Nos.  2  and  3  ;  also 
in  elementary  drawing  (geometrical  or  free-hand),  elementary  mechanics, 
and  one  of  the  following  subjects  :  Latin,  a  modern  language  not  offered 
in  the  preceding  statement,  English  history,  political  economy,  or  one  of 
the  subjects  in  Group  IV. 

Oxford. 

I.      X,   Latin  ;  2,   French  ;  3,   German  ;  4,   vSpanish  ;   5,   Italian. 
II.      I,   Arithmetic  ;   2,   Algebra,  luiclid. 
HI       I,   English  Geography  ;   2,  English  History  ;  3,    Political  Economy. 


201 

TV.      I,  Drawing;    2,  Inorganic  Chemistry;  3,  Organic  Chemistry;  4, 

Mechanics. 
V.    I,   Electricity;  2,   Magnetism. 
YI.     vSound,  lyight  and  Heat. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  certificate,  the  candidate  must  pass  in,  at  least, 
one  of  the  languages  in  Group  I.  ;  in  Knglish  geography  and  commercial 
history  of  the  British  Isles  and  colonies,  in  mathematics,  in  elementary 
drawing,  in  elementary  mechanics,  and  in  one  other  subject.  The  aim 
of  the  examination  is  to  include  such  subjects  as  boys  of  sixteen  years  of 
age  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  pass,  preparatory  to  going  into 
business. 

The  University  of  Oxford  announced  that  no  examinations  for  Com- 
mercial Certificates  would  be  held  in  1893.  This  is  not  surprising  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  so  few  presented  themselves  for  examination  in  1892  ;  nor 
is  it  surprising  that  so  few  presented  themselves  when  we  consider  that 
there  was  not  a  single  institution  in  all  England  which  made  it  its  chief 
business  to  furnish  instruction  along  the  lines  of  higher  commercial 
instruction. 

Below  is  printed  the  papers  set  in  the  last  Oxford  examination  for 
Commercial  Certificates  in  Letter  Writing,  Commercial  Geography, 
Knglish  History  and  German.  The  exercise  in  Letter  Writing  is  an 
admirable  one  and  is  of  much  more  educational  value  than  the  ordinary 
essay  and  theme  writing  of  an  American  college. 

P.'VPKRS   SET    IN    EXAMINATION    FOR    COMMERCIAL    CERTIFICATES,* 

I. 
PRFICIS   AND    LETTER   WRITING. 

/.      Having  trad  the  accotnpanying  correspondence — 

Draw  tip  a  Pr'^cis,  i,  e.  a  brief  and  clear  statement  0/  zvhai passed, 
not  letter  by  letter^  but  in  the  form. of  a  narrative. 

Directions. — The  object  of  the  Precis  is  that  anyone  who  had  not 
time  to  read  the  original  letters  might,  by  reading  the  Precis,  be  put  in 
possession  of  all  the  leading  features  of  what  passed.  The  merits  of  such 
a  Precis  are — (i)  to  contain  all  that  is  important  in  the  correspondence, 
and  nothing  that  is  unimportant ;  (2)  to  present  this  in  a  consecutive  and 
readable  shape,  expressed  as  distinctly  as  possible,  and  as  briefly  as  is 
compatible  with  completeness  and  distinctness. 

I  Dynevor  Terrace,  September  9,  1891. 
Dear  Sir  : — T  have  received  this  morning  the  enclosed  letter  relating 
to  the  above  house.  As  you  are  fully  acquainted  with  all  the  circum- 
stances under  which  it  was  let  to  the  present  occupant  and  have  the  lease 
of  it  in  your  possession,  I  should  be  obliged  if  you  would  kindly  give  your 
ixttention  to  the  matter  and  inform  me  at  your  earliest  convenience  as  to 
what  steps  you  advise  me  to  take  in  reference  thereto. 

Believe  me,  Yours  sincerely, 

Richard  Gunton. 
To  R.   Gribble,  i   Gray's  Inn  Road. 

*  University  of  Oxford.     Local  Examination.     Tapers  set  for  the  examination  for  Commercial 
Certificates  held  in  1892.     Oxford,  i^<)i. 


202 

[enclosure.] 

K^-naston  House,  Chiswick,  Septembers,  1891. 
Dear  Sir  : — I  am  desirous  of  calling  your  attention  to  the  condition  in 
which  this  house  is,  owing  to  the  action  of  the  Local  Board  in  the  course 
of  carrj-ing  out  their  ' '  useful ' '  drainage  schemes.  Quite  recently  I  was 
surprised  by  receiving  from  them  a  notice  calling  on  me  to  allow  their 
men  to  inspect  my  premises.  To  make  a  long  stor>'  short,  the  men  came, 
and  the  following  day,  to  my  astonishment,  I  received  a  second  notice 
stating  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  board  to  lay  down  a  pipe  through 
and  underneath  my  house  and  thence  down  to  the  river.  I  called  at  the 
offices  of  the  board  and  had  an  interview  with  the  authorities,  but  nn- 
expostulations  and  representations  that  the  proposed  pipe  would  be  likely 
to  injure  the  house  and  render  it  damp  and  unfit  for  habitation  were  in 
vain.  The  men  came,  and  on  August  20th  proceeded  with  the  work. 
It  is  evident  from  what  has  subsequently  transpired  that  the  work  was 
done  improperh'.  Not  long  after  the  pipe  was  laid  down  and  the  ground 
put  in  order,  my  servants  discovered  that  the  cellars  and  basement  showed 
signs  of  damp,  and  in  some  places  considerable  damage  has  been  caused 
by  the  entrance  of  water.  In  these  circumstances  I  am  obliged  to  writt 
to  you  to  take  some  steps  to  remedy  the  mischief.  I  need  not  remind  you 
that  at  the  time  I  took  the  lease  I  hesitated  considerably  wdiether  it  was 
prudent  to  take  such  an  old  house  and  one  so  near  the  river,  and  that  it 
was  only  after  you  agreed  to  la}'  down  concrete  in  the  basement,  and  to 
secure  me  from  all  river  damage  b}^  a  clause  in  the  lease,  that  I  consented 
to  become  your  tenant.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble, as  unless  something  is  done  I  shall  suffer  serious  inconvenience,  which 
I  feel  sure  3^ou  would  deprecate  as  much  as  anyone. 

Believe  me,  Yours  sincerely, 

lyEONARD    CakSTAIKS. 

To  Richard  Gunton,  i  Dynevor  Terrace. 


I  Gray's  Inn  Road,  September  10,  1891. 
Dear  Sir : — I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the 
9th  inst.  I  have  looked  at  the  lease  and  fully  considered  the  matter. 
It  appears  to  me  that  the  best  course  to  pursue  is  to  write  to  the  tenant 
that  you  are  going  to  apply  to  the  I^ocal  Board  for  compensation  for  tht- 
damage  done,  and  that  you  will  inform  him  of  their  decision.  If  it  meets 
your  approval,  we  will  write  to  the  Board,  acquainting  them  with  the 
facts,  asking  them  to  make  good  the  damage  and  put  the  premises  in  sncli 
a  state  as  to  render  them  safe  in  future.  Of  course  all  delay  should  l>e 
avoided,  but  we  will  not  proceed  in  the  matter  until  we  hear  from  \o\z 
further. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Richard  Grihiu.k 
To  Richard  Gunton,    i  Dynevor  Terrace. 


I  Dynevor  Terrace,  September  10,  1891. 
Dear  Sir  : — I  am  duly  in  receipt  of  your  letter,  and  hasten  to  reply 
to  the  same.     I  should  be  obliged   if  you   would  make  the  application  to 


the  Board,  and  leave  to  your  discretion   the  terms  of  the  application. 
am  naturally  much  annoyed  by  all  that  has  taken  place. 

Yours  truly, 

Richard  GuNToy. 
To  Richard  Gribble,  i  Gray's  Inn  Road. 


Re  Kynaston  House,  i  Gray's  Inn  Road,  September  ir,  1891. 
Dear  Sir  : — I  am  desirous  of  calling  your  attention  to  the  damage 
caused  to  the  basement  and  cellars  of  Kynaston  House  by  the  negligence 
of  your  servants  in  laying  down  a  drain  pipe  underneath  the  premises  in 
question.  The  owner  has  asked  us  to  apply  to  you  for  compensation  for 
the  damage  already  done,  and  to  ask  you  to  send  workmen  to  repair  the 
pipe  and  so  prevent  future  damage.  We  should  be  ol:)liged  by  an  earl>- 
reply  as  the  tenant  is  threatening  that  he  will  be  obliged  to  leave  the  hou.se 
unless  steps  be  taken  to  remedy  the  mischief  and  unless  he  is  full}''  com- 
pensated for  the  damage  and  inconvenience  that  has  been  caused  to  him. 
Waiting  an  early  reply,  I  am, 

Vours  respectfully, 
Ivocal  Board,  Chiswick.  Richard  Gribbms. 


IvOcal  Board,  Chiswick,  September  12,  189 1. 
Dear  Sir  : — We  are  In  receipt  of  jour  letter,  and  beg  to  state  that  the 
damage  alleged  to  have  been  caused  by  our  servants  is  of  a  trifling  descrip- 
tion. We  have  inspected  the  premises,  and  are  satisfied  that  very  little 
needs  to  be  done  to  the  drain.  We  are  anxious,  however,  to  avoid 
impleasantness,  and  therefore  state  our  willingness  to  pay  your  client  25/. , 
which  is  the  ver>^  utmost  we  can  offer  for  damage  which  our  surveyor 
assures  us  could  be  remedied  for  a  much  smaller  amount.  Hoping  that 
this  will  meet  the  approval  of  your  client. 

Believe  me,  Yours  respectfully. 

W.  Hopkins,  vSec.  to  Local  Board. 
R.  Gribble,  i  Gray's  Inn  Road. 


I  Gray's  Inn  Road,  September  12,  iS9r. 
Dear  Sir  : — We  have  informed  our  client  of  the  contents  of  your 
letter  of  to-day,  and  are  instructed  b}^  him  to  inform  you  that  he  thinks 
you  have  taken  an  entirely  erroneous  view  of  the  matter.  He  is  unwilling  to 
accept  the  sum  you  offer,  but  is  willing  to  put  the  matter  in  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Jenkins,  of  Richmond,  a  competent  surveyor,  for  arbitration.  In  case 
you  are  not  willing  to  proceed  to  arbitration,  the  only  course  left  will  be 
to  obtain  the  opinion  of  a  court  of  law  on  the  matter,  and  we  shall  be 
pleased  to  know  the  name  of  your  solicitor. 

Yours  respectfully, 
Local  Board,  Chiswick.  Richard  Gribki.r. 


Local  Board,  Chiswnck,  September  12,  1891. 
Dear  Sir  : — We  are  unable  to  assent  to  your  view  of  the  matter,  and 
must  therefore  leave  you  to  take  your  own  course.     Messrs.  Tatham,  4 
Chancery  Lane,  are  our  solicitors. 

Yours  sincerely, 

W.  HoPKiN.';,  Sec.  to  Local  Board. 
I  Gray's  Inn  Road 


204 

2.     Write  a  letter  on  one  only  of  the  following  subjects  : 

(i)  S.  &  Co.,  a  firm  in  Bombay,  are  desirous  of  exporting  goods 
for  the  Manchester  market.  They  write  to  B.  &  Co.,  commission  agents 
in  Manchester,  offering  and  proposing  terms  on  which  they  are  willing  to 
consign  goods  to  them  for  the  purpose  of  sale.  In  the  letter  describe  fully 
the  nature  of  the  goods,  the  duties  to  be  performed  by  B.  &  Co. ,  the 
terms  as  to  shipment  and  insurance  of  the  goods,  the  terms  as  to  what  is  to 
be  done  by  B.  &  Co.,  with  the  proceeds  of  sale,  and  the  tenns  as  to  B. 
&  Co. 's,  commission  with  any  other  terms  that  would  be  likely  to  be 
embodied  in  such  a  proposal. 

(2)  Write  a  letter  of  application  to  a  bank  or  commercial  firm  from 
a  person  desirous  of  obtaining  the  post  of  clerk  or  manager  in  such  bank 
or  firm.  In  the  XqUqv  fully  state  what  experience  the  applicant  has  had 
previously,  why  he  is  leaving  his  former  occupation,  on  what  terms  he  is 
willing  to  accept  the  employment,  and  all  facts  which  are  likely  to  influence 
the  bank  or  firm  in  accepting  his  offer. 

(3)  Explain  fully  the  meaning  of  the  following  mercantile  expres- 
sions :  Shipping  documents,  net  proceeds,  rebate,  course  of  exchange, 
dock  warrant,  endorsement  of  bill,  notarial  protest,  general  average,  drawl- 
ing bill  against  goods  to  arrive,  del  credere  agency,  accommodation  bill, 
crossed  cheque. 

II. 

COMMERCIAI,   GEOGRAPHY. 

\^Each  Candidate  will  receive  the  same  outliyie  maps  as  those  set  to 
Ju  n  ior  Ca  n  dida  tes.  ] 

1.  On  the  accompanying  map  of  England  and  Wales  mark  the  iron 
fields,  the  salt  districts,  the  railways  from  London  to  Plymouth,  Holyhead 
and  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  and  the  packet  stations  for  regular  communication 
with  the  continent,  giving  in  each  case  the  name  of  the  continental  port 
to  which  steamers  run. 

2.  On  the  accompanying  map  of  Europe,  place  Astrakhan,  Bergen, 
Brindisi,  Chemnitz,  Dantzig,  Frankfort,  Galatz,  Nantes,  Patras,  and 
explain  the  nature  of  the  commercial  importance  of  each. 

3.  Make  a  sketch-map  of  the  Spanish  Peninsula,  showing  the  wine 
di.stricts,  the  mining  districts,  and  the  fruit  ports. 

4.  State  the  course  of  the  main  railway  routes  from  the  east  to  the 
west  coast  of  North  America. 

5.  France  is  said  to  be  naturally  the  richest  country  in  Europe.  On 
what  facts  as  to  climate,  products,  and  geographical  position  is  this  opinion 
ba.sed  ?  ^yu,i^/n  /^. U,  ^. . v v < 

6.  What  are  maize,  tobacco,  espartof  flax,  petroleum,  zinc,  amber  and 
from  what  countries  are  tliey  obtained. 

7.  What  are  the  exports  of  tlie  West  Coast  of  Africa,  New  Zealand, 
the  River  Plate?  Name  the  ports  of  each. 

8.  What  differences  would  be  made  in  the  course  of  trade  to  and 
from  England  by  the  closing  of  the  Suez  Canal  ? 

9.  Point  out  the  advantages  and  disadvantages,  relatively  to  trade, 
of  the  geographical  position  of  Antwerj?,  Belfast,  Bombay,  Bristol,  South- 
ampton, Trieste. 

10.  Discuss  the  respective  merits  of  land  and  sea  carriage  for  goods. 


205 

III. 

GERMAN. 

\Candidatcs  tnusi  saiis/v  the  Examiiicrs  in  Sections  X,  B,  and  Q,  of 
this  paper :  neat7iess  and  handicriting  -fill  be  taken  into  aecoiint.  The 
tetter  in  Section  C  must  be  written  in  Gertnati  characters  ;  no  marks  will 
be  allowed  for  a  letter  written  in  Roman  characters.^ 

A. 

Tran-slate  into  English  : 

(i)  Wenn  wir  Was.ser  in  einem  ofTenen  Geias.se  hin.stellen,  so  wird 
es  sich  nach  Verlauf  einiger  Zeit  vennindern,  und  nacli  langerer  Zeit  ganz 
verschwunden  sein.  Wir  sagen  alsdann,  das  Wasser  sei  verdunstet,  aber 
wir  wis.sen  sehr  wolil,  dass  es  nur  seine  Gestalt  veriindert,  hat,  und  als 
Dunst  in  die  Luft  gestiegen  ist.  Die  Aiisdiinstung  wird  durch  Warme 
befordert ;  warmes  Wasser  in  einer  Schale  verliert  sich  .schneller  als  kalte.'^ 
\Vas.ser.  Bringt  man  eine  Schale  niit  warmem  Wasser  in  ein  kaltes  Zim- 
mer,  so  werden  die  Diinste  sichtbar  ;  wir  sehen  sie  hingegen  nicht,  wenn 
die  Luft  ini  Zimmer  bis  zu  demselben  Grade,  wie  das  Wasser,  erwarmt  ist. 

(2)  WoUen  wir  den  schonen,  ininiergriinen  Bauni,  der  das  ganze 
Jahr  seine wohlriechenden,  schneeweissen  Bliiten  tragt,  in  seiner  natiirlichen 
Freiheit  sehen,  so  miissen  wir  freilich  nicht  nach  Westindien  gehen.  Sein 
Vaterland  ist  auch  nicht  das  gliickliche  Arabien.  wo  allerdings  die  fein.ste 
Sorte  Kaffee  wachst,  die  in  den  Handel  kommt.  .sondern  das  alte  Mohren- 
land  und  Abessynien  ;  dort  finden  sich  die  Kaffeewalder  ;  dort  wachst  der 
echte  Kaffee  wild,  wahrend  er  in  Arabien  der  sorgfaltig.sten  Pflege  bedarf. 
Uer  Baum  kann  20  bis  40  Fuss  hoch  werden,  aber  in  Westindien  wird  er 
nur  4  bis  6  Fuss  hoch  gehalten,  damit  man  die  Friichte  um  so  leichter 
pfliicken  kann.  Die  immergriinen  Blatter  .sind  lederartig,  iihnlich  denen  der 
Pomeranze,  langlich  eirund,  nicht  gezahnt  und  wellig.  Die  Bliiten  sitzen 
je  4-7  auf  kurzen  Stielen  in  den  Blattachseln  gedrangt  beisammen  und 
umgeben  wie  in  einem  Quirl  den  Stengel.  Die  Frucht  ist  eine  eirunde, 
fast  kugelige,  etwa  einen  halben  Zoll  lange,  sehr  kurz  gestielte  Beere  mit 
einem  weichen  .siissen  Fleisch  ;  sie  hat  die  Grosse  einer  Kirsche  und  sieht 
anfangs  griin,  dann  rot,  zuletzt  violett  aus. 

B. 

Translate : 

Liverpool,  den  5.  Januar,  1S92. 
Hemi  C.  Becker, 
Hamburg. 

Wir  sind  unsenn  Freunde,  Hemi  F.  Bolton,  Rir  seine  Empfehlung  an 
Ihr  wertes  Haus  sehr  verpflichtet,  und  in  Enviederung  Ihres  geschatzten 
Schreibens  von  29.  v.  M.  erlauben  wir  uns  Dinen  mitzuteilen,  dass  wir  von 
der  uns  gemachten  Konsignation  fiir  Rechmuig  des  Hemi  Robson,  wie 
auch  von  Ihren  Vorschriften  beziiglich  der  Ablieferung  der  Giiter,  so  wie 
des  Kredits,  den  wir  die.sem  Hern;  fiir  die.selben  zu  bewilligen  haben,  ge- 
horig  Kenntnis  genommen  haben. 

Wir  konnen  Ihne'n  bereits  die  gliickliche  Ankunft  unsers  besagten 
Freundes  mit  den  bewussten  Giitem  melden.  In  einigen  Tagen  sollen 
Sie  wieder  von  uns  horen,  wo  wir  Ihnen  dann  nahere  Nachrichten  geben 
zu  konnen  hoffen.  Die  Feuerversicherung  werden  wir  besorgen,  so  bald 
die  Giiter  ausgeladen  sind. 


206 

Es  wiirde  uns  grosses  Vergniigen  gewahren,  wenn  dieses  erste  Geschaft 

7.wischen  uns  zu  einem  fortdauernden  und  gegenseitig  niitzliclien  und  an- 
genehmen  Briefwechsel  fiihren  soUte,  den  zu  unterhalten  wir  es  unserseits 
an  nichts  fehlen  lassen  werden. 

Unsere  Geschafte  sind  nicht  sehr  belebt,  und  Manufakturwaren  so- 
wohl  wie  Kolonialprodukte  wenig  begehrt.  Von  letzteren  schliessen  wir 
Ihnen  Preisliste  bei. 

Hochachtungsvoll  und  ergebenst, 

G.   Hartmann  &  Co. 
C. 

Write  a  letter  in  German  (the  letter  mvist  not  be  written  in  the  third 
person,  but  in  the  form  of  that  in  Section  B)  to  the  following  effect : 

(i)  Acknowledge  receipt  of  Messrs.  Hartmann  &  Co.'s  letter  and 
thank  them  for  their  promptitude  in  attending  to  the  instructions  given  as  to 
the  delivery  and  insurance  of  the  goods. 

(2)  As  the  prices  of  tea  and  coffee  quoted  in  Messrs.  Hartmann  & 
Co.'s  circular  are  fairly  low,  send  an  order  for  50  chests  of  Ceylon  tea  and 
So  bags  of  Jamaica  coffee. 

(3)  Inquire  if  there  be  any  likelihood  of  a  rise  in  the  prices  of 
Jamaica  ginger,  and  request  Messrs.  Hartmann  &  Co.  to  wire  if  such  be 
the  case. 

(4)  Request  Messrs.  Hartmann  &  Co.  to  insure  the  goods  and  to 
despatch  25  bags  of  coffee  by  the  quickest  route — viz.  by  rail  to  Hull  and 
thence  by  steamer  to  Hamburg — and  the  tea.  together  with  the  remaining 
•2^  bags  of  coffee,  by  sailing  vessel. 

(5)  State  that  on  receipt  of  invoice  and  bill  of  lading,  cheque  for 
half  the  amount  will  be  sent  immediately,  and  a  bill  at  three  months  in 
l>avment  of  the  other  half. 

D. 

Give  the  German  equivalents  for  : 

(i)  We  have  credited  you  with  the  5^2  per  cent  which  we  have 
recovered  from  the  underwriters. 

(2)  This  endorsement  offers  us  no  guarantee. 

(3)  We  have  exchanged  the  shares  for  5  per  cent  bonds  ;  you  will 
not  lose  by  the  exchange. 

(4)  The  General  Post  Office. 
And  the  Knglish  equivalents  for  : 

(5;  Die  Bor.se  hat  sich  von  der  Flauheit,  die  .seit  einiger  Zeit  herr- 
schte,  erholt. 

(6)  Fracht  auf  Giiter  per  Ton  Mass. 

(7)  Unverzin.sliche  Staatspapiere. 

(8)  Hypothekirtes  Kigentum. 

IV. 

ENGLISH   HISTORY. 

1 .  Account  for  the  great  expansion  of  Kngli.sh  power  in  the  reign  of 
IClizabeth. 

2.  Point  out  the  importance  of  the  "  Seven  Years'  War  "  as  an  ei)och 
in  the  history  of  the  Ivnglish  in  America. 

3.  When  and  why  did  the  English  iX)pulation  begin  to  flow  out  of 
the  country  into  the  towns. 


207 

4-  Explain  the  terms — monopoly,  benevolence,  purveyance ;  and 
show  the  commercial  importance  of  these  things  being  abolished 

5.  What  was  the  theory  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries' 
a.s  to  the  proper  relations  between  the  mother  country  and  colonies? 

6.  Give  the  dates  of  the  acquisition  by  Ivngland  of  Malta,  St. 
Helena,  Dunkirk,  Jamaica,  Mauritius,  and  point  out  the  political  or  com- 
r.icrcial  importance  of  each, 

7.  How,  and  how  far,  did  the  maritime  power  of  England  enable  her 
to  cope  successfully  with  Napoleon  ? 

8.  Give  a  very  short  account  of  the  Daricn  Scheme,  the  Navigation 
Act,  the  Peace  of  ITtrecht. 

9.  Mention  the  turning-points  in  the  history  of  agriculture  in 
England. 

NOTES  ON  COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION  IN  ENGLAND. 

I. 

In  "Studies  in  vSecondary  Education,"  edited  by  Arthur  H.  D. 
Acland  and  H.  Llewellyn  Smith  (Macmillan  &  Co.,  1892)  a  few  refer- 
ences are  made  to  the  work  in  commercial  education  in  England.  But 
tlie  manner  in  which  these  references  are  made,  as  well  as  the  matter, 
shows  the  indifference  with  which  the  average  educationalist  regards  the 
subject  as  well  as  the  small  part  which  commercial  schools  play  in  the 
general  educational  system  of  the  United  Kingdom.  There  is  a  com- 
mercial school  in  connection  with  the  Liverpool  Institute,  with  750  pupils. 
It  takes  boys  at  eight  or  nine  years  of  age,  though  most  of  the  pupils  axe 
from  twelve  to  thirteen  on  entering  the  school.  The  education  given  is 
])urely  scientific  and  commercial,  and  the  fee  five  pounds  a  year.  The 
parents  seem  to  be  clerks,  small  shopkeepers,  engineers  on  steamships 
and  skilled  artisans.  In  a  great  many  cases  the  boys  only  stay  a  few 
months  in  the  school,  merely  having  gone  to  get  a  certificate  from  the 
head-master.  This  enables  them  to  say  that  they  have  attended  the 
institute,  and  they  are  better  able  to  get  posts  as  clerks,  etc.,  in  London 
offices.  This  seems  to  be  very  much  such  a  school  as  our  commercial 
colleges  ;  for  as  soon  as  the  boys  sliow  special  aptitude  for  study  they  are 
shifted  from  the  commercial  to  the  high  school  to  enable  them  to  carry 
their  education  further.  There  ar^  some  twenty  teachers  in  this  depart- 
ment, of  whom  four  hold  B.  A.  degrees  ;  the  others  have  no  diplomas. 

In  connection  with  the  Liverpool  College  is  also  a  conmiercial  school, 
giving  a  purely  conunercial  education,  five  of  whose  instructors  hold 
government  certificates,  and  two  have  passed  the  London  intermediate 
examination. 

Professor  I<owrv,  who  wrote  an  account  of  secondary  education  in 
IJverpool,  says  tiiat  these  two  schools  are  alone  sufficient  to  condemn  the 
theory  that  secondary'  education  for  the  poorer  middle  classes  should  be 
self-supporting.  The  salaries  in  both  of  these  schools  are  ver>'  low,  so 
that  they,  evidently,  cannot  get  a  very  high  grade  of  talent  for  the  work. 

The  following  remarks  on  commercial  education,  by  A.  T.  Pollard, 
head-master  of  the  City  of  London  School,  throw  much  light  upon  the 
i)ackward  state  of  commercial  education  in  England.  When  a  man  of 
Mr.  Pollard's  position  imagines  that  nothing  new  can  be  said  in   England 


208 

on  a  question  which  Englishmen  are  just  beginning  to  consider  one  can 
get  a  faint  idea  of  the  general  ignorance  upon  the  subject. 

"  The  subject  of  this  paper  is  essentially  common-place  in  character, 
and  I  propose  to  treat  it  from  a  practical  side.^^  It  would  be  difficult,  I 
should  say,  to  say  anything  new  on  so  trite  a  question,  and  I  have  simplv 
endeavored  to  indicate  what  is  practical.  The  term  '  commercial  educa- 
tion '  includes  two  things  :  the  education  which  should  be  given  to  boys 
who  leave  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  the  education  of  boys  remaining 
at  school  until  seventeen  years  of  age  who  are  intended  for  a  life  of  busi- 
ness. The  special  difficulties  of  commercial  education  do  not  occur  in 
what  has  hitherto  passed  for  secondary'  education  ;  the  criterion  of  which 
has  been  a  fitness  in  the  subjects  taught  to  open  up  the  miuds  irrespective 
of  practical  utility. 

"Classical,  mathematical  and  scientific  men  may  argue  as  to  whicli 
of  their  subjects  is  the  best,  but  they  have  a  common  ground  of  reasoning 
in  the  wish  to  develop  the  powers  of  the  mind.  The  commercial  man 
seeks  what  is  of  use ;  he  w'ants,  if  possible,  a  trained  product,  but  the 
product  must  be  an  immediately  useful  product  as  well. 

"  The  cry  for  commercial  education  is  essentially  a  ciy  for  general,  as 
distinguished  from  special  education.  On  that  ground,  if  on  no  other,  I 
welcome  the  cry  and  believe  that  it  will  tend  to  raise  the  general  level  of 
intelligence.  There  is  no  antagonism  in  it  to  the  pursuit  of  classical 
studies,  where  time  and  circumstances  permit,  and  there  would  be  much  to 
be  regretted  if  the  classical  schools  of  England  were  to  lose  all  control  over 
this  species  of  education.  Nothing  but  good  can  come  of  the  maintenance 
of  the  old  and  the  new  in  one  school.  A  commercial  school,  dealing  only 
with  commercial  boys,  would  gradually  become  more  and  more  commercial 
in  character  ;  a  training  absolutely  sacrificed  to  immediate  utility,  and  boys 
thus  taught  would  completely  lose  touch  with  the  highest  education  given 
in  the  country. ' ' 


Quotations  from  an  address,  delivered  by  request,  to  the  members  of  the  Glasgow  Local  Associa- 
tion of  the  Kducatioual  Instit4Ue  of  Scotland,  Saturdav,  seventeenth  of  March.  !&88.  By  W.  G.  Blackie. 
Ph.  D.,LI<.D.     Ex-l,ord  Dean  of  Guild.    Blackie  &  Son.    Edinburgh,  1888.     Pp   52. 

I  have  been  requested  to  deliver  an  address  to  the  members  of  the 
Glasgow  Local  Association  of  the  Educational  Institute  of  Scotland  on  the 
very  important  subject  of  Commercial  Education,  and  have  great  pleasiire 
in  now  complying  with  that  request.  Until  quite  recenth'  no  one  would 
have  thought  of  preferring  such  a  request  to  any  one  ;  and  that  for  the 
simple  reason  that  no  one  took  any  special  interest  in  the  education  of  those 
who  were  destined  to  be  engaged  in  commercial  pursuits.  Public  provision 
had  been  made  for  the  education  of  clergymen,  doctors,  lawyers,  teachers, 
of  those  to  be  employed  in  the  applications  of  ornament  in  manufactures, 
and  also  of  tho.se  proposing  to  devote  themselves  to  scientific  pursuits  ;  but 
it  was  not  thought  necessary  to  provide  any  special  educational  course  for 
training  one  of  the  most  numerous  as  well  as  mo.st  important  classes  of  the 
community — that  to  which  is  intru.sted  the  carrying  on  the  commerce  of  this 
great  empire.  In  short,  in  a  countr>'  which  is  commercial  above  all  the 
countries  of  the  world,  whose  relations  in  trade  with  foreign  countries  are 
more  extensive  than  those  of  any  other  country  in  existence,  and  whose  ver>' 

•  Thirteen  Essays  on  "  Education  "  by  members  of  the  Thirteen.  London  :  Pcrcival  &  Co.,  1891. 
Ks.say  No.  5. 


209 

life  and  prosperity  depend  in  a  very  large  measure  on  the  success  of  its 
foreign  trade,  the  public  mind  had  never  awaked  to  the  necessity  of  provid- 
ing public  means  for  the  educational  training  of  those  through  whose  exer- 
tions and  mental  capacity  alone  this  success  could  be  ensured. 

Out  of  this  condition  of  careless  indifference,  so  little  creditable  either 
to  our  educationists  or  our  merchants,  the  country  has  been  effectively  roused 
by  evidence  which  cannot  be  gainsayed  and  which  it  would  be  folly  to 
neglect.  It  has  been  discovered  that  in  our  counting-houses  at  home,  on 
account  of  defective  education,  our  native  clerks  are  being  superseded  by 
foreigners,  and  that  in  many  parts  of  the  world  our  trade  is  being  dimin- 
ished— such  diminution  being  caused  solely  by  the  superior  education  of 
foreign  merchants,  more  especially  German,  as  compared  with  our  own. 

The  evidence  referred  to  has  been  obtained  through  the  reports  of 
British  and  of  foreign  consuls,  the  reports  of  the  commissioners  on  the 
Depression  of  Trade  and  on  Technical  Education,  and  the  investigations  of 
the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

In  the  report  on  Technical  Education  it  is  said  (97)  :  "In  this  matter 
of  education  we  seem  to  be  particularly  deficient  as  compared  with  some  of 
our  foreign  competitors  ;  and  this  remark  applies  not  only  to  what  is  usually 
called  Technical  Education,  but  to  the  ordinary  commercial  education 
which  is  required  in  mercantile  houses,  and  especially  in  the  knowledge  of 
foreign  languages." 

The  chainnan  of  the  commission  on  Technical  Education,  Sir  Bemhard 
Samuelson,   Bart.,   addressing  Viscount  Cranbrook,  said,    "  That  English \ 
commercial  men  were  ashamed  to  find  that  German  clerks  coming  to  this  ) 
country  were  able  at  once  to  take  positions  superior  to  those  of  English  / 
clerks  serving  in  the  same  office."*     The  London  Chaniber  of  Commerce 
found,    through  replies  given   to   questions  circulated  among  mercantile 
houses,  that  ' '  Qinety-nine  perjcentof  the  Englishmen  who  take  to  commer-\ 
cial  life  are  alleged  toTiave  no  serviceahle^cquaintance  with  French  and 
German.     Consequently  employers^who  have  aealiiTgs ^with  Ibreigners  are 
^compelled  to  hire  strangers  able  to  write  and  read  the  languages  of  their 
correspondents.      They   find   their  other   qualities   such   as   render   them 
serviceable  inmates.     A  German  clerk     *     *    *     is  generally  intelligent 
and  well  instructed  in  other  than  purely  commercial  subjects,"  and  has 
"  a  higher  average  of  mercantile  intelligence  all  round."! 

These  are  the  opinions  of  British  merchants  regarding  the  state  of 
commercial  education  at  home.  Whether  expressed  by  the  chairman  of 
the  Commission  on  Technical  Education  or  through  the  London  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  they  are  of  the  gravest  import,  and  call  for  much  serious  reflec- 
tion. It  may  be  well,  however,  also  to  glance  at  a  foreign  mirror,  and  see 
what  it  will  reveal  on  the  same  subject.  A  German  trade  journal^  says, 
"  Where  the  individual  English  clerk  is  pushed  out  of  an  occupation  by  his 
Gennan  rival  he  has  only  himself  to  blame.  The  fact  must  be  ascribed  to 
the  defective  commercial  knowledge  of  the  Englishman,  or,  if  traced  to  a 
still  remoter  origin,  to  the  singularly  inefficient  character  of  English  educa- 
tion. *  *  *  Handicapped  as  the  young  Englishman  is  in  London  when 
starting  in  commercial  life,  his  position  is  not  much  better  when  he  makes 
his  debut  as  a  trader  in  foreign  countries.     According  to  a  host  of  reports 

*  The  Daily  News,  March  22,  18S7.  Report  of  a  deputation  which  waited  on  Viscount  Cranbrook, 
president  of  the  council,  to  urge  the  necessity  of  government  action  with  regard  to  technical  and 
commercial  education. 

+  The  Times,  thirteenth  of  July,  1887. 

J  Kuhlow's  German  Trade  Review,  Berlin,  quoted  in  \.\i&  Financial  Reformer,  October,  1887. 

14 


210 

emanating  alike  froui  British  and  other  consuls  the  dc\elopnient  of  Cjernian 
and  decline  of  English  trade  is  not  so  much  to  be  ascribed  to  the  superiority 
of  German  goods  as  to  the  greater  sharpness  and  activity  of  Gennan 
traders. ' ' 

On  one  point  I  would  differ  from  the  opinion  expressed  by  the  writer 
of  these  sentences.  I  would  absolve  the  English  clerk  from  the  responsi- 
bility of  personal  blame  for  the  state  of  his  education,  and  lay  the  whole 
burden  of  his  shortcomings  in  that  respect  on  what  the  writer  ver\'  properly 
styles  "  the  singiilarl}^  inefficient  character  of  English  education."  In  this 
opinion,  which  is  probablj''  intended  to  apply  specially  to  secondary  educa- 
tion, I  ver}'  thoroughly  concur,  so  far  as  it  applies  to  the  preparation  of 
youths  intended  for  mercantile  life. 

The  educational  deficiencies  which  have  been  obsen-ed  do  not  arise 
from  any  want  of  abilit>%  either  in  the  young  aspirants  who  are  qualifying 
themselves  for  a  mercantile  career,  or  in  the  teachers  under  whom  they  have 
studied,  but  wholly  from  the  defective  system  of  secondary'  education  under 
"which  the  countr}^  has  too  long  suffered.  Our  second ar>'  schools  may  very 
well  be  called  preparatory^  schools  for  the  universities.  The  universit>^  is 
their  goal ;  by  the  success  of  their  pupils,  or  the  reverse,  in  the  university 
course  their  prestige  rises  or  falls.  It  is,  therefore,  quite  natural  that  the 
course  of  education  in  these  institutions  should  be  specially  directed  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  youths  who  intend  to  proceed  to  the  university  after 
leaving  school.  But  the  prevalent  mistake  has  been  to  constrain  all  boys  to 
take  this  course,  whether  they  intend  to  enter  the  uniA'crsity  course,  or 
whether  on  leaving  school  they  propose  to  go  direct  into  business.  This 
mistaken,  though  doubtless  well-meant  course  of  action,  has  arisen  from 
the  pervading  influence  in  the  minds  of  teachers,  and  throiigh  them  in  the 
minds  of  parents,  of  the  very  mischievous  fallacy  that  no  secondar>'  educa- 
tion can  be  of  any  value  unless  it  includes  instruction  in  the  ancient  classi- 
cal languages,  or,  at  least,  in  the  Ivatin  tongue.  All  culture  is  believed  to 
be  derived  from  the  study  of  the  ancient  languages  and  the  classical  writers, 
and  attempts  to  obtain  the  same  end  by  other  means  are  uniformly  pooh- 
poohed  and  frowned  upon  ;  a'ld  yet,  coincident  with  this  belief,  and  coinci- 
dent with  this  action,  boys  who  do  not  take  a  universitj'  course  are  sent  out 
into  the  world  unable  to  peruse  with  appreciation  the  very  authors  through 
a  study  of  whose  writings  alone  culture  is  presumed  possible  to  be  obtained. 

In  the  case  of  boys  who  do  not  go  to  the  university,  but  enter  into 
business  on  leaving  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen,  the  result  of  this 
system  of  instruction  is  very  well  known,  and  reflects  credit  on  no  one. 
These  boys  have  for  five  years  or  more  been  engaged  in  the  study  of  the 
classical  langiiages,  and  possibly  also  of  one  modern  language  ;  and  when 
they  leave  school  to  go  to  business  they  are  not  found  to  possess  a  useful 
knowledge  of  any  one  of  them.  Had  another  course  been  pursued — had 
these  same  boys,  in  place  of  being  drilled  in  Latin,  or  Eatin  and  Greek, 
had  their  attention  turned  to  modern  languages  during  the  whole  of  their 
course — they  would  have  been  able  to  write  and  speak  two  of  them,  if  their 
language  master  was  worth  his  salt.  This  brings  me  to  notice  another 
fallacy  which  pervades  the  public  mind,  ari.sing  doubtless,  in  some 
measure,  from  the  one  already  adverted  to,  namely,  that  boys  cannot  learn 
continental  languages  in  this  country.  Tho.se  who  maintain  this  opinion 
must  al.so,  at  the  same  time,  be  of  opinion  that  Scotch  boys  have  not 
the  ability  of  boys  on  the  continent,  for  it  is  found   in  Germany,  Holland, 


J 


211 

Belgium,  Austria,  Switzerland,  France,  etc.,  that  boys  in  these  countries 
can  learn  English  without  crossing  the  channel.  My  own  belief  is,  that 
whether  it  be  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  intricacies  of  grammar 
or  of  the  art  of  pronunciation,  a  vScotch  boy,  under  the  care  of  a 
properly  qualified  teacher,  will  hold  his  own  with  any  foreigner  from 
the  Ural  Mountains  to  Cape  Finisterre.  Give  him  the  opportunity,  and 
he  will  show  what  he  can  do.  In  place  of  constraining  him  to  go  through 
a  Latin  grind  as  preparatory'  to  entering  upon  a  mercantile  life,  say  at 
sixteen  years  of  age,  put  him  into  a  course  in  which,  in  addition  to  his 
native  Knglish,  his  time  is  filled  up  with  modern  languages  and  histor>', 
commercial  geography,  natural  history,  mathematics,  mercantile  corre- 
spondence and  other  cognate  subjects,  and  a  result  will  be  oljtained  equal 
to  that  which  is  reached  in  any  continental  school  of  a  similar  kind. 

The  question,  therefore,  which  should  now  receive  consideration  is 
ncjt  one  of  relative  mental  capacity.  There  is  no  allegation  in  any  of  the 
reports  which  have  been  made,  that  the  youths  of  Great  Britain  are  in  any 
degree  inferior  mentally  to  their  compeers  on  the  continent.  The  question 
is  solely  an  educational  one,  and  must  be  solved  through  educational 
means.  It  assumes  the  aspect  of  an  educational  duel  between  the  mer- 
cantile population  of  this  country  and  their  competitors  on  the  continent, 
in  which  the  master}-  is  sure  to  remain  with  those  who  are  the  most  fully 
equipped  for  the  contest.  It  is  well  to  keep  this  very  important  fact  con- 
stantly present  in  the  mind,  as  it  provides  a  convenient  test  by  which 
to  estimate  the  value  of  any  educational  suggestions  that  may  be  put 
forward. 

An  instructive  confirmation  of  the  position  of  the  educational  contest 
here  adverted  to  is  to  be  found  in  a  report  made  as  earlj^  as  187 1  and  pre- 
sented to  the  French  Chamber  of  Commerce  by  M.  Ricard  of  the  Com- 
mercial Academy,  Prague,  which  contains  the  following  significant  pas- 
.sages  :  "  The  strength  of  our  academy,"  he  sa5-s,  "lies  in  the  practical 
character  of  its  studies,  viz.,  (i),  commercial  arithmetic;  (2),  ofl5ce 
work;  (3),  modern  languages;  (4),  technolog>^  of  materials;  (5), 
writing.  *  *  *  You  are  right  in  urging  on  commercial  studies.  If 
French  trade  does  not  occupy  its  rightful  place  it  is  from  want  of  the 
special  instruction  which  ought  to  precede  the  practice  of  anj-  profession. 

"  Every  intelligent  man  must  admit  that  the  invasion  of  our  com- 
merce by  foreigners  is  due  entirely  to  this  educational  inferiority.  The 
Germans  are  taking  our  places  everj^where.  They  even  supplant  the 
English.  Why  is  this?  Because  the  teaching  of  modern  languages  in 
Germany  is  so  thorough  that  '  intelligent  emigration  '  becomes  ea.sy  and 
profitable,  and  conunerce  is  advanced  by  the  young  adventurers  who  go  to 
the  end  of  the  world  in  order  to  organize  agencies  for  the  large  markets 
of  Vienna,  Prague,  Berlin,  FVankfort,  etc.  All  the.se  3-oung  men  speak 
French  and  Engli.sh,  as  well  as  their  own  tongue  ;  if  the5'.are  going  to  the 
Spanish  colonies  they  speak  vSpanish,  and  if  to  China  they  learn  Chinese. 
H;  *  He  j^g^  ^i^g  merchants  of  France  take  warning  in  time,  Gennan 
commerce  has  better  instruction,  better  discipline,  and  greater  enterprise 
than  French  commerce  ;  it  is  at  home  ever^-where — no  languages  are 
foreign  to  it ;  it  keeps  a  look-out  over  the  whole  world  ;  it  is  not  ashamed 
to  go  school  ;  and  if  you  do  not  awake  from  your  lethargy  it  will  annihi- 
late you.""-'^ 

*  yuoti-d  in  Report  on  Commeiiiu!  Kducalion      Pp.  ji,  32.     Isbister,   London. 


212 

The  picture  here  drawn  by  M.  Ricard  is  sketched  in  very  strong 
colors,  but  not  stronger  than  the  dangers  of  the  occasion  demand,  for  their 
influence  on  British  as  well  as  on  French  commerce  is  of  a  very  threaten- 
ing description,  and  one  which  it  behooves  us,  with  all  our  energy,  to  seek* 
to  counteract.  What  means  should  be  taken  to  effect  this  do»3irable  end 
may  be  considered  with  greater  advantage  after  we  have  taken  a  general 
view  of  the  means  by  which  the  forces  marshaled  against  us  have  been 
prepared  for  the  commercial  battle  of  the  world. 

Meantime  let  our  secondary  schools  establish  a  commercial  course 
parallel  to  the  classical  course  which  usually  forms  the  main  feature  in 
these  institutions.  That  much  can  be  accomplished  by  the  governors  of 
these  institutions  if  they  are  so  minded.  Some  private  schools  have 
already  taken  up  the  subject  and  made  good  provision  for  it.  The  Glasgow 
and  West  of  Scotland  Technical  College  proposes  to  institute  a  commercial 
course,  and  the  Glasgow  Athenaeum,  through  its  evening  classes,  offers 
useful  opportunities  for  preparing  for  mercantile  life.  But  it  would  be  well 
if  we  had  in  addition  in  Glasgow,  at  least  one  fully  equipped  commer- 
cial school  analogous  to  one  or  other  of  the  high  schools  in  Germany  to 
which  reference  has  been  made,  presenting  in  addition  to  a  proper  curri- 
culum of  several  years,  one  of  one  year,  which  might  be  resorted  to  by 
those  who  have  taken  a  degree  in  the  university,  and  desire  before  enter- 
ing business  to  equip  themselves  fully  for  the  important  walk  in  life  which 
they  propose  to  follow.  This  institution  would  be  a  model  to  others,  and 
by  the  gifts  of  our  merchants  would  soon  be  in  possession  of  a  teaching 
collection  of  commercial  products  of  the  greatest  value  and  the  most 
varied  description.  lyCt  us  also  seek  to  impress  business  men,  young  and 
old,  with  a  lofty  conception  of  the  educational  requirements  of  the  class 
to  which  they  belong.  Their  needs  are  as  great  as  those  who  belong  to 
the  learned  professions,  and  why  should  their  aims  be  lower  ?  With 
properly  directed  effort  they  may  reach  an  educational  platform  equally 
high  and  attain  a  reputation  of  equal  value.  The  following  well-conceived 
remarks  on  this  very  important  question  will  form  an  appropriate  conclu- 
sion to  this  address  : 

"  He  whose  early  education  has  been  properly  directed  will  make 
more  progress  in  commercial  experience  in  six  months  than  will  be  made 
in  several  years  by  another  without  such  preliminary  training.  This  is 
more  especially  the  case  in  our  time,  when  the  extension  given  to  com- 
merce and  industry  has  multiplied  and  varied  our  commercial  transactions  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  elevate  to  a  veritable  science  that  which  was  considered 
as  only  a  common  matter  of  every-day  knowledge.  In  fact,  in  these  days, 
it  is  necessary  that  a  merchant  should  be  highly  educated  if  he  wish  to 
retain  an  elevated  position  in  the  commercial  world.  *  *  *  it  is  very 
difficult  to  acquire  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  many  commercial  technical- 
ities of  the  present  day.  The  knowledge  required  in  dealing  with  raw 
material  is  not  acquired  in  a  day,  and  an  acquaintance  with  modes  of  produc- 
tion, manufacture,  treaties  of  commerce,  commercial  geography,  custom- 
house regulations,  and  maritime  questions  generally,  are  all  subjects  which 
demand  much  careful  time  and  study.  Without  a  knowledge  of  all  these 
the  merchant  is  condemned  to  move  in  a  restricted  sphere,  not  being  able, 
without  danger,  to  give  a  wide  range  to  his  operations,  and  not  daring  to 
create,  in  foreign  countries,  those  branch  establishments  which  are  often 


213 

the  means  of  his  successful  establishment.  ^  ^^  ^  it  can  be  safely 
asserted  that  true  commercial  education  has  been  left  too  long  in  a  state  of 
neglect.  *  *  *  Men  have  seemed  to  imagine,  that  in  order  to  prosper, 
commerce  and  industry  have  only  required  money  and  favorable  treaties 
of  commerce.  Governments  have  occupied  themselves  with  the  material 
side  of  the  future  merchant,  without  taking  care  to  develop  his  intellectual 
capacity,  which  is,  indeed,  the  spirit  of  his  operations ;  without  taking 
care  to  improve  his  intelligence,  which  is  the  germ  of  enterprise  in  the 
commercial  life  of  a  nation."* 

4- 

yf  brief  report  on  Commercial  Education  in  England,  between  1887  and  i8<)i,  with  suggestions  for 
its  fuiure  development,  from  Mr.  J.  J.  Ftndlay,  M.  A.,  late  Head-master  of  Wesley  College,  Sheffield,  to 
the  Sheffield  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

1 .  The  comments  I  have  to  offer  date  from  the  Report  on  Commercial 
Education  prepared  in  1886  and  1887  at  the  request  of  the  late  Samuel 
Morley,  and  presented  to  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  in  1887. 
Following  upon  this  report,  the  Commercial  Education  Committee, 
appointed  on  December  14,  1887,  drew  up  a  scheme  of  education,  and 
subsequently  made  arrangement  with  the  College  of  Preceptors  and  with 
other  examining  bodies  for  schemes  of  certificates. 

I  propose  to  show  that,  while  the  report  of  1887  affords  most  valuable 
guidance  as  to  the  lines  which  we,  in  England,  should  follow  in  order  to 
improve  commercial  instruction,  the  arrangements  for  examinations  and 
certificates,  which  have  followed  therefrom,  are  wholly  inadequate,  and 
indeed  are  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  method  of  German  Commercial 
Education, 

2.  Causes  of  the  success  of  German  Commercial  Education. 

The  main  impressions  that  we  gather  from  the  report,  as  to  German 
schools,  may  be  summarized  as  follows  : 

{a)  That  Germany  has  been  engaged  on  this  work  of  Commercial 
Education  for  fifty  years,  and  has,  during  that  period,  gained  an 
amount  of  skill  and  experience  in  this  kind  of  instruction  to  which 
we  have  no  parallel  in  England.  Commercial  instruction,  like  any 
other  special  calling  in  life,  is  a  highly  technical  and  difficult  task, 
and  it  is  only  in  a  long  course  of  years,  and  by  the  help  of  many 
workers  in  different  centres  that  the  Germans  have  arrived  at  their 
present  stage  of  perfection.  This  applies,  in  a  less  degree,  to  France, 
where  a  great  impulse  has  been  given,  in  this  as  in  many  other 
directions,  by  the  awakening  which  followed  the  political  disasters 
of  1870. 

{U)  That,  while  the  Germans  have,  for  many  years,  given  this 
attention  to  commercial  instruction,  they  have  attached  far  more 
importance  to  the  foundation  of  good  geiieral  education^  before  the 
age  when  specialization  for  commerce  is  begun.  Thus,  I  was  informed 
by  Dr.  Carl  Wolfrum,  the  principal  of  the  famous  Mercantile  Insti- 
tute of  Eeipsic — which  I  have  visited  very  recently — that  no  one  can 
be  admitted  to  enter  upon  these  special  commercial  studies  who  has 
not  passed  with  credit  through  the  Modern  Schools  of  Leipsic,  or 
can  give  evidence  of  having  attained  a  proper  standard  at  some  other 
place  of  general  education.     A  ver>'  slight  acquaintance  with  German 

*  Report  on  the  foundation,  orjjanization  and  pro.erress  of  the  /nsiitut  Suphieur  de  Commerce  of 
Antwerp,  from  its  institution  by  Royal  Warrant,  in  1S52  up  to  tile  present  day;  prepared  on  the 
occasion  of  the  International  Exhibition  in  l,iverpool,  1SS6. 


214 

education  makes  it  evident  that  their  success  at  the  present  day  in 
technical  and  commercial  knowledge  is  almost  ivholly  due  to  the  fact 
that  a  soii7id  general  education  has  been  enforced  throughout  Ihe 
country  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 

(r)  The  institutions  in  Germany  for  Commercial  Education  (all 
founded  and  maintained  by  chambers  of  commerce)  are,  speaking 
generally,  supported,  managed,  examined,  and  even  taught  4)' Z'''^^'''- 
cal  eommercial  vien,  who  have  or  have  had  some  7'eal  knowledge  at 
first  hand  of  what  the  commercial  world  needs.  For  example,  the 
teacher  of  English,*  under  Dr.  Wolfrum,  at  Leipsic,  is  an  experienced 
teacher,  but  he  would  never  have  been  permitted  to  hold  this  post 
merely  on  the  ground  of  his  scholarship  :  he  had  had  the  good 
fortune  to  have  spent  some  j-ears  in  a  banking  house  before  he  turned 
his  attention  to  education,  and  this  experience  has  qualified  him  \o 
teach  English  in  a  Mercantile  School.  So  with  the  majority  of 
the  teachers  :  they  have  either  had  some  actual  business  experience, 
or  they  have  received  their  training  in  the  best  Commercial  Institutes 
of  France  and  Germany,  and  thus  they  learned  what  is  required 
under  the  guidance  of  experienced  men,  and  in  close  contact  with  the 
managers  of  these  institutions — men  holding  distinguished  positions 
in  the  commercial  world. 

3.  Action  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  Committee  in  iSSS.f 
With  this  report  before  them,  and  with  such  facts  as  these  presented 
to  their  notice,   what  action  did  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  Committee 
take? 

They  (i)  issued  a  scheme  of  education]:  with  a  detailed  list  of  studies 
which  might  be  pursued  from  yeav  to  year.  This  in  itself  was  useful,  but 
a  paper  scheme  of  what  miglit  be  done,  if  any  one  can  be  found  to  do  it, 
does  not  take  us  very  far. 

But  (2)  they  adopted  measures  for  which  the  example  of  Germany 
and  of  France  offer  no  warrant,  and  which,  indeed,  are  opposed  to  the 
whole  spirit  and  method  of  Gennan  education.  They  instituted  examina- 
tions for  certificates,  and  offered  a  large  number  of  scholarships  and  prizes. 
Here  again,  a  scheme  of  examination  on  paper  is  not  harmful  in  itself, 
but  unfortunately  it  has  done  great  harm  in  practice,  because  it  was 
supposed  to  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  case.  Sir  Albert  Rollit  said, 
' '  The  machinery  of  commercial  education  was  not  only  ready  but  in 
action."  The  committee  in  London,  and  the  examining  bodies  with 
whom  they  co-operated,  seemed  to  suppose  that,  when  these  regulations 
were  drawn  up,  and  when  all  the  apparatus  of  examining  and  of  award- 
ing prizes  were  set  on  foot,  that  their  duty  was  at  an  end,  and  that  some 
one  else — the  .schoolmasters  or  parents — nuist  do  the  rest. 

It  is  one  of  the  great  misfortunes  of  English  education  that  we  seem 
to  place  all  our  reliance  upon  certificates  and  examinations.  I  am  writing 
with  full  knowledge  of  this  subject,  having  prepared  cla.sses  and  pupils 
for  almo.st  all  the  current  examinations  in  the  country.  vSuch  examina- 
tions schemes  are  simply  useless  for  the  practical  purpose  of  assisting 
English  commerce  by  improved  instruction. 

•  Mr.  Moutfjomery.  formerly  in  a  Bankinp  House  in  nelfast. 

t  Sec  speeches  of  Mr.  A.  Korster  and  .Sir  Albert  Rollit,  at  London  Chamber  of  Commerce  Annual 
Meetinp  at  Hotel  Metropole.  in  iS88,  (as  reported  in  the  Sheffield  papers  at  the  time). 

X  Scheme  for  Commercial  Kdncation,  adopted  by  Associated  Chamber  of  Commerce,  twenty-fiflh 
of  September,  1888. 


215 

4-  Failure  of  the  Kxamination  and  Prize  Schemes. 
There  is  no  question  that,  as  a  matter-of-fact,  the  scliemes  have 
failed.  A  few  .schools,  such  as  King's  College  School,  London,  have 
reorganized  their  upper  form  in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
scheme — a  few  candidates  here  and  there  have  offered  themselves  for  the 
certificates  and  prizes,  but  it  has  been  a  matter  of  public  comment  in  the 
press  that  the  new  Commercial  Regulations  issued  by  the  "Joint  Board," 
the  Cambridge  and  Oxford  "Local"  delegates,  and  by  the  College  of 
Preceptors,  have  practically  produced  no  change  in  the  condition  and 
practice  of  secondary  schools. 

It  may  be  said  that  we  have  not  yet  had  time  to  estimate  the  effect  of 
these  schemes  ;  but  unfortunately  there  seems  to  be  no  pro.spect  (jf  their 
meeting  with  an  increase  of  support,  as  one  year  succeeds  another. 

5.  Causes  of  Failure. — The  arguments  which  account  for  the  success 
of  German  education,  which  I  have  detailed  in  3,  will  go  far  to  explain 
the  failure  of  the  present  schemes  in  England. 

{a)  In  England  we  have  at  present  no  competent  teachers  of  com- 
mercial subjects,  to  teach  with  any  success  the  special  kinds  of  instruc- 
tion required  ;  for  commerce  needs  experience  and  knowledge,  quite 
different  from  that  of  the  ordinary- schoolmaster.  Y021  cannot  produce 
results  zi'ithout  teachers. 

There  are  a  fair  number  of  English  young  men  who  have 
entered  the  Eeipsic  and  other  German  Commercial  Institutes  and 
their  condition — their  lack  of  proper  grounding — is  very  conspicuous, 
when  placed  side  by  side  with  German  boj's  of  the  same  age. 

ih')  We  are  proposing,  teachers  or  no  teachers,  to  give  special 
instruction  to  boys  who  have  no  proper  foundation  in  good  general 
education.  //  is  -vaste  of  time  to  apply  special  commercial  training 
to  young  men  who  have  not  learned  in  their  earlier  years  the  elements 
of  good  general  knowledge — in  arithmetic,  the  English  language, 
geography,  and  modern  languages.  Far  better  to  let  them  take  their 
chance  in  business  and  get  on  as  best  they  can  in  the  office,  using 
their  native  English  enterprise  and  shrewdness,  rather  than  to  keep 
them  working  for  certificates  for  which  they  have  no  iryoiindin^  in 
tlieir  earlier  years,  and  for  which,  as  things  are  at  present,  English 
schools  cannot  provide  competent  instructors. 

(r)  The  chambers  of  commerce,  after  taking  up  this  matter  as 
their  own  concern,  have  only  gone  half  way  and  have  left  the  most 
serious  part  of  the  work — the  actual  organization  of  connnercial 
instruction — to  be  done  by  others.  If  they  followed  the  example  (jf 
Germany,  they  would  themselves  oj-ganize  this  special  instruction 
which  they  demand — they  would  themselves  see  that  teachers  were 
found  to  impart  it — and  they  would  themselves  super\-ise  any  .sort  of 
examination  that  might  be  necessar\%  instead  of  leaving  it  in  the 
hands  of  professors  and  lecturers,  who  are  wholly  ignorant  of  the 
requirements  of  the  case. 

One  of  the  most  capable  English  teachers  in  this  department  is 
Dr.  Wormell,  Head-master  of  the  well-known  City  Middle  Cla.ss 
School  in  London.  His  contributions  to  the  educational  queries  two 
years  ago,  showed  very  clearly  the  defects  of  the  examination  .scheme, 
which  Professor  Ware  (Doctor  of  Divinity  at  King's  College)  had 
prepared  for  the  London  Chamber  (^f  Commerce. 


216 

(fl?)  Instead  of  following  the  German  example,  a  paper  exami- 
nation has  been  established,  and  the  schools  of  the  country,  which  at 
present  have  neither  teachers  nor  appliances  at  all  adequate  to  meet 
the  case,  have  been  desired  to  send  up  candidates.  The  result  has 
been  to  cram  a  few  boys  with  knowledge  gained  out  of  correspond- 
ence, textbooks,  and,  perhaps,  in  one  or  two  schools,  to  produce 
some  really  useful  teaching.  Clearly,  the  examination  must  be  the 
end  and  not  the  beginning  of  a  new  plan  of  instruction.  The  cart 
has  been  put  before  the  horse.  Prizes  and  certificates  have  all  been 
arranged  before  there  was  any  provision  for  teaching  ! 

6.  New  prospect  opened  by  the  Technical  Instriution  Act.  Before 
stating  the  suggestions  which  I  have  to  offer,  I  wish  to  point  to  the  work 
now  being  done  by  various  county  councils,  as  indicating  the  right 
solution  of  the  problem.  And  here  let  me  observe  that  the  phrase  Tech- 
nical Education,  as  defined  in  the  act,  covers  the  whole  ground  of 
Commercial  Education,*  and,  if  in  Sheffield,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
should  take  steps  to  secure  efficient  instruction  for  commercial  life,  they 
could  properly  appeal  to  the  Technical  Instruction  Committee  for  a  grant 
in  aid. 

The  County  Councils  have  recognized  that  improvement  in  teaching 
depends  upon  the  improvement  of  the  teacher,  and  classes  are  therefore 
being  instituted  in  many  branches  of  technical  pursuit  to  train  teachers  to 
impart  their  knowledge.  They  are  offering,  up  and  down  the  country, 
many  scholarships — but  they  are  not  of  the  nature  of  prizes,  which  the 
winner  may  put  into  his  pocket,  but  they  are  to  assist  the  winner  by  send- 
ing him  to  some  place  of  higher  technical  education  where  he  may  qualify 
himself  better  for  the  service  of  his  country  in  technical  industry. 

7.  My  suggestions,  which  I  make  particularly  with  reference  to 
Sheffield,  but  which  will  apply  to  any  large  commercial  centre,  are  as  follows : 

(a)  With  reference  to  \h&  general  education  of  boys  in  secondary 
schools — up  to  the  age,  let  us  say,  of  fifteen  ; — what  could  a  Chamber 
of  Commerce  do  ?  I  think  it  has  a  right  to  inquire,  in  anj^  possible 
way,  as  to  the  success  or  failure  of  the  schools  in  its  neighborhood. 
It  ought  to  know,  c.  g. ,  whether  such  schools  teach  arithmetic  and 
elementary  mathematics  with  any  success.  Whether  boys  intended 
for  commerce  still  continue  to  waste  their  time  on  Latin  or  Greek. 
Whether  such  boys  make  a  proper  start  with  French  and  German. 
And  whether  they  secure  some  intelligent  acquaintance  with  the 
elementary  facts  of  chemistry  and  physics,  which  are  of  essential 
importance  as  a  foundation  for  the  knowledge  of  goods,  of  machinery, 
and  of  general  business  in  later  life. 

I  do  not  suggest  that  the  Chamljcr  of  Commerce  should  itself  institute 
these  inquiries,  and  certainly  I  do  not  want  it  to  establish  another  paper 
examination  ;  but  tliere  are  many  ways  of  conducting  such  inquiries,  and 
I. certainly  think  that  the  Chamber  of  Conuncrce  would  do  well  in  associa- 
tion, perhaps,  with  the  Technical  Instruction  Committee  of  the  town 
council,  and  with  the  help  of  Firth  College  in  seeking  information  as  to  the 
actual  state  of  instruction  in  the  private  and  the  endowed  schools  of  the  town. 
(<5)  Beyond  the  period  of  general  education  comes  the  period 
when  a  boy  should  obtain  special  instruction  in  commercial  subjects 

*  Technical  Instruction  Act  [52  and  ss  Vict.l  s.  8.  The  expression  "  technical  instruction  "  includes 
*'  modern  languages  "  and  "  commercial  subjects." 


217 

proper.     If  he  is  a  poor  boy,  lie  must  get  this,  as  is  done  everywhere 
ill  Germany,  in  early  morning  or  late  afternoon  classes. 

If  his  parents  are  more  wealthy  and  can  afford  to  keep  him  at 
school  after  he  is  fifteen  years  old,  he  ought  to  enter  either  a  special 
mercantile  institute,  or  a  special  mercantile  department  (of  a  secondary 
grammar  school,  or  of  a  university  college).* 

Now,  I  have  tried  to  show  that  no  such  mercantile  institute  or 
department  can  possibly  be  established  until  properly  qualified  teachers 
are  created.  I  affirm  that  we  have  not  got  them  in  England.  Half 
an  hour  spent  in  inspecting  the  work  done  in  the  institute  at  Leipsic 
was  sufficient  to  convince  me  that  we  know  nothing  of  it  in  this  coun- 
try at  present^  and  we  might  as  well  invite  the  masters  in  our  secondary 
schools  to  come  into  our  merchants'  offices  and  manage  our  business 
for  us,  as  expect  them,  at  a  moment's  notice,  to  undertake  the  work 
that  is  being  done  in  the  mercantile  institutes  abroad. 

I  argue,  therefore,  that  the  one  practical  step  which  our  Chamber 
of  Commerce  ought  now  to  undertake,  is  to  provide  properly  qualified 
commercial  teachers.  I  talked  with  Dr.  Wolfrum  and  with  one  of  his 
assistant  masters  upon  this  topic.  He  entirely  agreed  with  me,  and 
said  that  if  any  English  teacher,  a  sensible  man,  with  some  knowledge 
of  what  business  means,  were  sent  over  to  study  in  the  Leipsic  Insti- 
tute— or  to  a  similar  commercial  institute  in  Paris,  or  Antwerp,  or 
Vienna,  he  would  learn  in  a  year,  or  in  eighteen  months,  how^  to  con- 
duct commercial  classes,  and  might  return  to  England  and  organize 
effective  teaching  here.  He  would  learn,  for  example,  how  to  teach 
commercial  history  and  commercial  geograph}- — which  is  quite  a 
different  matter  from  the  ordinary_geograpIiy  which  we  now  teach — 
he  would  leafircomTtriig-house  work,  aTToiowledge  of  the  Articles  of 
Commerce  (a  most  important  subject,  the  acquirement  of  which  is  of 
the  greatest  assistance  to  Germans  in  extending  their  business),  and 
he  would,  of  course,  learn  the  modern  languages  in  a  .practical 
fashion,  t 

And  more  than  this,  he  would  learn  the  business  of  commercial  educa- 
tion in  the  only  wa}'  that  a  man  can  learn  any  business,  by  actually  going 
into  it  and  getting  training  in  the  places  where  it  is  well  done. 

8.  I  therefore  offer,  as  a  practical  suggestion,  that  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  in  Sheffield  provide  a  suitable  scholarship  of  perhaps  £,\^o  or 
;{^20o,  and  select  a  suitable  candidate  to  be  sent  to  some  well-known  com- 
mercial institute  on  the  continent.  The  candidate  should  be  a  young  man 
with  some  culture  and  experience  in  teaching,  but  also  with  some  practical 
acquaintance,  if  possible,  with  commercial  life.  I  suppose  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  place  him  under  engagement  to  teach  after  his  return  in  Sheffield 
under  the  direction  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  would  be  then 
qualified  either  to  organize  evening  classes  for  apprentices,  or  to  establish 
a  commercial  department  in  some  institution  like  the  Grammar  School  or 
Firth  College.  But  I  ought  to  repeat  that  even  then  nothing  like  the 
results  obtained  in  Germany  can  be  expected,  unless  the  earlier  general 
education  is  also  improved. 

*  I  asked  Dr.  Wolfrum  how  they  secured  commercial  teachers  in  Germany.    He  said, '  'We  have 
__to_£reat£t^em  ourselves,  and  it  has  taken   fifty  years  to  do   it."         

+  I  venture  to  assert  that  there  are  not  ten  English  schoolmasters  competent  to  teach  the  funda- 
mental subjects  of  the  Commercial  High  School;  and  how  can  we  be  expected  to  prepare  pupils  to 
pass  examinations  in  them. 


218 

This  proposal  involves  considerable  expense,  but  this  is  to  be  expected. 
The  German  Merchant  Guilds  have  been  supporting  commercial  education, 
with  their  purses  as  well  as  with  their  interest,  for  fifty  j-ears,  and  we  may 
fairly  expect  that  English  merchants  will  not  be  behindhand  with  gifts  of 
money  when  they  see  that  some  fair  return  may  be  expected  for  their  out- 
lay. One- tenth  of  the  money  which  Sheffield  manufacturers  have  spent  in 
technical  education  would  suffice  to  give  adequate  support  to  commercial 
education  in  this  town. 

Finally,  let  me  urge  again  that  any  such  scheme  will  depend  for 
success  not  upon  prizes  or  certificates,  but  upon  the  actual  teaching  ability 
of  the  men  employed.  I  should  urge  that,  if  the  enterprise  be  undertaken, 
those  who  conduct  should  follow  not  only  the  continental  methods  of 
instruction,  but  also  of  examination  and  inspection.  I  need  not  trouble 
you  with  suggestions  under  this  head  at  present,  except  to  recommend 
that  the  English  Examination  Board,  with  its  hampering  machinery  of 
certificates  and  prizes  be  disregarded.  If  managers  and  teachers  both  have 
a  real  interest  and  knowledge  of  this  work  of  commercial  instruction,  the 
pupils  will  have  sufficient  stimulus  to  industry  and  will  be  themselves  the 
best  judges  of  the  work  done  in  the  commercial  classes. 

9.  Can  we  improve  upon  German  methods  of  commercial  instruction  ? 
I  wish  to  anticipate  one  objection  to  the  views  which  I  have  endeavored 
to  express  in  this  paper.  It  may  be  said  that  we  are  too  fond  of  quoting 
Germany  as  an  example,  and  that  we  ought  to  improve  upon  their  plans. 
I  reply  : 

(i)  That  I  am  simply  arguing  upon  the  report  of  1S87  wiiich 
was  adopted  by  the  chambers  of  commerce,  and  has  been  presented 
to  the  English  public  by  English  merchants,  a  proof  of  the  superiority 
of  German  commercial  education. 

(2)  It  is  quite  true  that  German  methods  are  not  perfect,  and  I 
am  not  at  all  disposed  to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  education  for 
commercial  success  :  Education  by  itself  will  never  make  a  success- 
ful business  man.  But  the  report  of  1S87  shows  us  how  the  Gennans 
have  conducted  commercial  education  with  .success  during  many  years, 
and  if  we  wish  to  achieve  their  success,  we  must  study  their  methods. 
I  approve  these  methods  and  I  approve  of  the  report  of  1887,  ^^t  only 
because  they  have  helped  to  develop  German  commerce,  but  becau.se 
they  are  founded  on  true  principles  of  education,  and  of  sound 
common  sense. 

November,  1891.  J.   J.    B'indlav. 

5- 

loiter  from  l>r.  Carl  Wolfruiu  to  the  Secretary  of  the  SliefTieUl  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Dkar  Sir  : — I  have  received  and  read  with  gi'eat  interest  your  letter 
respecting  the  consideration,  by  your  Chamber  of  Connnerce,  of  tlie 
means  to  be  adopted  in  order  to  furni.sh  suitable  technical  training  to 
youths  destined  for  a  mercantile  career.  Mr.  Findlay  has  treated  the 
question  in  liis  rc])ort  with  .such  complete  knowledge  of  the  matter,  that" 
it  only  remains  for  mc  to  second  the  opinions  he  has  fonnulated,  and 
express  my  conviction  of  tlicir  accuracy  and  aptness.  Mr.  Duconnnun's 
report  is  also  excellent,  and  a])pears  to  l)e  the  result  of  liis  personal  investi- 
gations. The  plan  of  studies  annexed  to  the  latter  seems  to  me,  however, 
to  admit  of  .some  expedient  changes.      My  experience  would  lead  me  to 


219 

regard  the  following  axioms  as  essential  to  a  proper  solution  of  the 
question,  viz.:  That  technical  instruction  should  not  begin  Ix-fore  the 
fourteenth  year,  and  nuist  be  preceded  by  a  sound  general  education  ;  that 
the  committee  would  be  called  on  to  decide  what  degree  of  general  instruc- 
tion can  be  reckoned  on  in  an  Knglish  boy  of  that  age,  and  that  to  this 
the  first  year  study  plan  of  the  commercial  school  must  be  adapted.  The 
instruction  given  during  this  year  nuist  aim  at  rendering  the  pupil's 
knowledge  more  complete  and  uniform  before  introducing  them  to  entirely 
new  subjects.  In  our  establishment  the  only  technical  subject  taught 
during  the  first  year  is  Mercantile  Arithmetic  ;  the  other  subjects  being 
German,  French,  and  the  Elements  of  luiglish,  Geography,  Algebra. 
Geometry,  Writing  and  Drawing.  The  .special  commercial  training  only 
begins  with  the  vSecond  year,  as  it  demands  a  certain  ripeness  of  the  intelli- 
gence which  we  can  hardly  expect  to  find  in  even  a  talented  boy  of  four- 
teen. The  later  the  technical  instruction  begins,  the  better  are  the  results 
obtained.  The  greatest  .sers-ice  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  could  render 
the  cause  of  commercial  education  in  Kngland  would  be  to  bring  home  in 
some  way  or  other  to  English  parents  the  fact  that  a  boy  can  no  more  be 
prepared  out  of  han.d  for  business  life  than  for  any  other  calling.  The 
requisite  knowledge  cannot  be  pitchforked  into  him  within  a  year  or 
eighteen  months,  and  no  effectual  training  is  po.ssible  when  a  sufficient 
time  for  its  proper  evolution  cannot  be  reckoned  on. 

In  no  country  do  we  so  often  meet  as  in  England  the  delusion  that  a 
language,  for  instance,  can  be  learned  within  a  few  months,  and  that  the 
other  requisites  for  a  worthy  commercial  career  may  be  best  acquired  in 
actual  business.  A  true  commercial  training  requires  time — and  once 
again,  time. 

Apart,  moreover,  from  all  the  incontestable  advantages  of  a  thorough 
preliminary'  special  education,  there  are  other  considerations  which  render 
it  undesirable  that  a  youth  should  plunge  into  practical  business  life 
before  his  eighteenth  j-ear.  It  is,  for  instance,  a  recognized  fact  that  the 
understanding  and  spirits  retain  through  life  a  greater  elasticit}'  and 
energy  when  a  youth  is  not  overburdened  at  an  early  age  with  the  routine 
and  cares  of  his  calling. 

The  "  Commercial  Office  "  referred  to  in  Mr.  Ducommun's  report  has 
been  abandoned  everywhere,  I  believe,  in  Germany  and  Austria.  In 
America,  the  operations  are  confined  to  the  most  insignificant  trifles  ;  and 
I  think  that,  on  due  consideration,  such  "  playing  at  shop  "  will  be  found 
to  be  unscientific  and  overdone  ;  and  the  practice  presupposes  an  experi- 
ence and  technical  knowledge  which  the  pupils  cannot  possibly  possess. 
It  is  neither  good  school  nor  good  office  work.  In  our  institution 
groups  of  pupils  do  not  carry  out  with  other  groups  of  pupils  such 
iraaginar>^  transactions  as  may  happen  to  please  them.  Ever>'  pupil 
performs  independently,  and  in  accordance  with  the  principles  and  models 
furnished  him,  the  whole  series  of  connected  operations  arising  out  of  the 
various  species  of  commercial  dealings,  after  the  matter  has  been  thor- 
oughly explained  and  illustrated  by  the  teacher.  This  suffices  to  instil  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  routine  of  such  operations,  together  with  a 
clearer  conception  of  general  principles,  than  can  other^vise  be  obtained. 
What  remains  to  be  learned  may  safely  be  left  to  practical  life. 

It  must  further  l)e  recollected  that  such  training  as  we  are  speaking  of 
is  never  so  effective  after  the  entr>'  into  actual  business  life.     The  classes 


220 

for  apprentices,  therefore,  should  be,  as  with  us,  destined  only  for  such 
youths  as  intend  to  confine  their  attention  to  the  lower  walks  of  commerce. 
It  is,  moreover,  of  the  utmost  importance  that  these  classes  should  be  held 
at  suitable  hours,  even  should  they  trench  on  those  generally  devoted  to 
business.  In  this  institution  they  take  place  between  seven  and  nine 
a.  m.  or  two  and  four  p.  m.  Instruction  at  night  when  both  mind  and 
body  are  weary  with  the  day's  work,  is  inhuman  and  worthless — harassing 
alike  to  pupils  and  teacher.  There  are  still,  unfortunately,  schools  in 
Germany  where  the  instruction  is  given  at  night,  but  their  example  is  not 
a  desirable  one  for  Bngland. 

With  reference  to  the  creation  of  a  suitable  teaching  staff,  I  have 
already  expressed  myself  on  that  subject  to  Mr.  Schott.  The  gentlemen 
proposing  to  undertake  this  branch  of  education  must  not  shrink  from 
devoting  a  certain  time  to  practical  w^ork  in  approved  business  houses 
before  beginning  to  teach.  They  will  thereby  acquire,  too,  a  far  higher 
conception  of  their  task,  and  experience  a  proper  pleasure  in  its  worthy 
accomplishment. 

With  sincerest  wishes  for  a  successful  issue  to  the  efforts  of  your 
respected  corporation,  I  remain,  dear  sir,  3'ours  very  truly, 

Cari,  Wolfrum,  Director. 
I^eipsic,  15th  March,  1892. 

LIST  OF  AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED. 

1.  Die  Prager  Handelsakademie  von  ihrer  Griindung  bis  zur  Gegenwart 

( 1 856-1 873).     Gedenkschrift  aus  Anlass  der  Wiener  Weltaustel- 
lung  1873.     Prag  1873.     pp.  118. 

2.  Jahresberichte  iiber  die  Prager  Handelsakademie. 


25th.  1880-81 
26th.  1881-82 
30th.      1885-86 


31st.  1886-87  35th.  1890-91 
32d.  1887-88  36th.  1891-92 
34th.     1889-90     37th.      1892-93 

3.  Circulars  and  Announcements  of  the  Prager  Handelsakademie. 

4.  Vorlagen    fiir   die   Gremialversammlung   am    25    Mai    1892.     Prag 

1892.     pp.  28. 

5.  Centralblatt    fiir  das    gewerbliche  Unterrichtswesen    in    Oesterreich 

VI  Band.      Heft  3-4.     Vienna  1887.     p.   173-211. 

Containing  historical  account  of  the  Commercial  Academies  in 
Vienna  and  Prague. 

6.  Das  commercielle  Bildungswesen  in  Oesterreich-Ungarn  auf  Grund- 

lage  des  elementaren  und  mittleren  Unterrichtes  und  die  Kauf- 
mannischen  Lehranstalten  des  deutschen  Reiches.  von  Franz 
Glasser.     Vienna,  1893.     pp.  422. 

An  admirable  statistical  account  of  the  institutions  for  commer- 
cial education  in  Austria  (except  Bohemia)  and  in  Germany. 

7.  Jahresberichte  des  Vereines  der  Wiener  Handelsakademie. 

1 6th.  1 888 
17th.  1889 
18th.  1890 
19th.      1 891 

8.  Statuten  des  Vereines  der  Wiener  Handelsakademie.     9  pp. 

9.  Jahresl)erichte  der  folgcndcn  Anstalten  : 

(i)      Handclsschule  in  liozen.     1890-91  ; 

(2)     Akademie  fiir  Handel  and  Industrie  in  Graz.     1891  ; 


221 

(3)  Handelsakademie  in  Innsbruck.      1890-91  ; 

(4)  Handelsleliranstalt  in  Laibach.      1889-90  ; 

(5)  Handelsakademie  in  Linz.      1891. 

(6)  Communalhandelsschule  in  Reiclienberg.      1889-90; 

(7)  Statuten  der  Handels-Lehr  und  Krziehungsanstalt  in  Lai- 

bach  Gegriindet  ini  Jahre,  1834. 

10.  Berichte  iiber  die  offentliclie  Handelsleliranstalt  zu  Leipsic  fiir  das 

61  Schuljalir  (1891-92). 

Do.  fiir  das  62  Scliuljahr  (1892-93). 

11.  Satzungen  fiir  die  von  der  Handelskammer  nnterhaltene  Oeffentliche 

Handelsleliranstalt  zu  Leipsic. 

12.  ly'Enseignement  Commercial  et  les  Ecoles  de  Commerce  en  France 

et  dans  le  Monde  Entier.  Par  Eugene  Leautey.  Paris  1S86. 
pp.  IV.  et  774. 

A  most  excellent  work  of  which  extensive  use  has  been  made 
in  preparing  the  preceding  report.  Some  of  the  chapters  have 
been  translated  with  little  or  no  change  ;  others  condensed  ;  and 
nearly  all  have  furnished  some  contribution  to  this  monograph. 

13.  Exposition  universelle  internationale  de  1889  a  Paris.     Rapports  du 

Jur}'  International  publics  sous  la  direction  de  M.  Alfred  Picard. 
Rapport  de  M.  Paul  Jacquemart.  Enseignement  technique. 
pp.  258. 

Contains   an  excellent  general   view   of  French    Commercial 

Schools. 

14.  Annuaire  de  1' Enseignement  Commercial  and  Industriel,  Publie  sous 

la  direction  de  Georges  Paulet.     Paris.      1892. 

15.  Sujets  de  Concours  pour  I'admission  aux  F^coles  Supeeures  de  Com- 

merce. 

Ecole  des  liautes  etudes  commerciales, 

Ecoles  superieures  de  Commerce  de  Paris,  Bordeaux,  Le  Havre, 

L3'on,  Marseille, 
Institut  Commercial  et  pour  I'obtention  des  Bourses  Commerciales 

de  Sejour  a  I'etranger.     Paris.      1890.     pp.    158. 

Contains  examination  papers  set  from  1881-1890. 

16.  Les  nouveaux  programmes  d' enseignement  dans  les  ecoles  superi- 

eures de  commerce  reconnues  par  I'etat.     Par  A.  Daunay.     Paris. 
,  189 1,     pp.   35. 

17.  Ecoles  superieures  de  Commerce,  reconnues  par  I'etat — Reglements 

et  Documents.  Premier  Fascicule.  Cours  Preparatoires — Con- 
cours d'entree — Regime  des  Cours  Nomiaux.  Paris.  1S91. 
pp.   72. 

18.  Same.     Deuxieme  Fascicule.     Programmes  detailles  des  Cours  Nor- 

niaux.     Paris.      1891.     pp.    112. 

19.  L' Enseignement  primaire  professionnel.     Etude  sur  la  legislation  en 

vigeur  et  sur  les  attributions  respectives  du  ministree  de  1"  instruc- 
tion publique  et  du  ministere  du  commerce  et  de  I'industrie.  Par 
Georges  Paulet.     Paris.      1S89.     pp.    167. 

20.  Programmes  et  Rapports  : 

(i.)     Bordeaux.     F^cole  Superieure  de  Commerce  et  d'industrie. 
(a)   Rapports  du  directeur  sur  le  fonctiomiement  de  1' ecole  :    1885, 
1886,  1887,  1888,  1889,  1890,  1891. 


222 

(l>)    Programme  des  conditions  d' admission  a  I'ecole  :    1889,  1890, 

1891,  1892. 
{c)    Rapport  de  la  commission  mixte  au  conseil  -general,   an  con- 
seil  mmiicipal,  a  la  chambre  de  commerce  et  a  la  Societe  philo- 
mathique  de  Bordeaux.      Bordeaux.      1874.     pp.    11. 
{d}  Notice  historique  de  I'ecole.     Exposition  universelle  de  1889. 

Groupe  II — Classe  (6,  7,8).     Bordeaux.      1889. 
( 2. )     Le  Havre.   Iv' Ecole  Superieure  de  Commerce — Programmes 
des  conditions  d'admission  et  des  Cours  Normaux.      1891,  1892. 
(3.)     lyYON.     ly'E^cole    Superieure    de  Commerce.     Programmes, 
1 89 1.     Rapport   de  I'assemblee    generale   des   actionnaires   de 
I'ecole.      15  Decembre  1891. 
(4.)      MarseiIvLES.     Programme,  etc.      1S91. 
(5.)     Paris. 

L' Ecole  des  hautes  etudes  commerciales:  Programme,  1892. 
L' Ecole  Superieure  de  Commerce  de  Paris  :  Programme, 

1891. 
E'Institut  Commercial  de  Paris  :   Programme  1891. 
E' Ecole  Commerciale  :     Programme,  189 1. 
(6.)     Reims. 

Ecole  Professionnelle  :   Prospectus,    1890. 

21.  Arrete  reglant  les  conditions  d' attributions  des  bourses  commerciales 

de  sejour  a  I'etranger.     6  December.      1890. 

22.  La  Regia  Scuola  Superiore  di  Commercio  in  Venezia.    Notizie  e  docu- 

menti  presentati  dal  consiglio  direttivo  della  Scuola  alia  esposizione 
nazionale  di  Palermo,  1891-1892.     Venezia.      1891.     pp.  194. 
A    large    folio   form   monograph   containing   much   interesting 
information  as  to  foundation  and  work  of  this  great  institu- 
tion. 

23.  Reports  and  programs  of  leading  institutions. 

(a)  La  Scuola  di  Commercio  in  Eirenze  (Florence). 
(d)  Reale  Scuola  Superiore  di  Applicazione  per  gli  studi  com- 
merciali  in  Genova  (Genoa). 
Reports  for  1889,  1890,  1891. 

Statuto  organico  e  regolamento  della  vScuola.    Genova.     1889. 
Programmi,  1892. 
(r)  R.    vScuola    Media    di    Commercio    in  Trento.       Programma. 

1 890-9 1 . 
(d)  Scuola  Speciale  di  Commercio  in  Torino  (Turin).      Report. 
1887. 

Hi.storique  de  la  fondation  de  I'ecole  de  commerce  in  Turin. 
Par  Jean  Joseph  Garnier.      Turin.      1883. 

24.  Programmi  el  orari  per  gl'istituli  tcchnici.      Ivstratto  dal  Bollettino 

Ufficiale.  Parte  III.  No.  12,  14.  Ottobre,  1891.  Roma.  1891. 
pp.  64. 

25.  Conunercial  Education. 

An  address  delivered  by  request  to  the  members  of  the  Glasgow 
Local  Association  of  the  lulucational  Institute  of  Scotland. 
Saturday,  17th  of  Marcli,  iSSS.  By  W.  G.  Blackie.  Ph.,  LL.  D., 
l{x-L<)rd  Dean  of  Guild.      ICdin1)urgh.      1888.      \)p.  52. 

26.  Technical  iCducation  in  a  Saxon  Town. 

Jiy  II.  M.  hVlkin.      London..      18S1.     p]).  76. 


223 

z;.  Die  theoretische  und  praktische  Ausbildung  fiir  den  Kaufmannischen 
Beruf.     By  Dr.  Albert  Benser.      Dresden.      1880.     pp.  44. 

28.  Bericht  iiher  die  offeutliche  Handelslehranstalt  der  Dresdener  Kauf- 
maniischaft.      35th  for  i88g. 

2j.  Das  Kaufinannische  Fortbildungs-vSchulwesen  Deutschlands.  Seine 
gegenwartige  Gestaltung  und  Ausdchnung.  Von  Harry  Schmitt. 
Berlin.      1892.     pp.  211. 

y).     Barnard's  American  Journal  of  Education. 

The   volumes   of  this   series,    running    from    1855-1881,    contain 
much  that  is  valuable  relating  to  this  subject. 

3 1 .  Pamphlets  published  1)y  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Nos.  4 
and  10,  of  the  "  Pamphlet  Series,"  entitled  : 

"  Commercial  Pxlucation,  being  a  Report  of  the  Mansion  House 
Conference,  etc.  ;  "  and 

"Commercial  Education  and  its  Critics,"  respectively. 

i2.  Report  on  Commercial  Education  to  the  Sheffield  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce.    By  J.  J.  Findlay.      1891. 

33.  Industrial  Education. 

By  Sir  Philip  Magnus.  London.  Kegan  Hall,  Trench  &  Co. 
pp.  271.      1888. 

34.  Studies  in  Secondary  Education. 

Edited  by  Arthur  H  .D.  Acland  and  H.  Llewellyn  Smith.  London. 
Macmillan  &  Co.      1892.     pp.  334. 

35.  Thirteen  P^s.says  on  Education. 

By  Members  of  the  Thirteen.     London.     Percival  &  Co.      1891. 
pp.  321. 
3'3.     Education  of  Business  Men.     I. 

An  Address  on  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy 
before  the  National  Bankers'  Association  at  Saratoga,  Septem- 
ber 3,  1890.  By  Edmund  J.  James,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  in  the 
Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy.  Published  with 
Plan  of  Founder  and  Curriculum  of  the  School.  American 
Bankers'  Association.  New  York.  1891.  pp.  39. 
37.     Education  of  Business  Men.     II. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy  to 
American  Bankers'  Association  at  New  Orleans,  November  12, 
1891  ;  together  with  Letters  and  Extracts  from  Letters  relating 

•    to  Schools  of  Finance  and  Economy.     By  William  H.  Rhawn, 
Chairman  of  Committee  American  Bankers'  Association.     Feb- 
ruarj',  1892.     New  York.     pp.  16. 
;^S.     Education  of  Bu.siness  Men.     III. 

A  Plea  for  the  E.stablishment  of  Commercial  High  Schools. 

An  Address  by  Professor  Edmund  J.  James,  of  the  Wharton 
School  of  Finance  and  Economy,  before  the  American  Bankers' 
Association  at  San  Francisco,  September  7,  1892.  American 
Bankers'  Association.     New  York.     1893.     PP-  ^7- 


«^ 


INDEX. 


Academies,  Commercial,  establishment  of, 

in  Anstria,  i,  2 
Academy,  Commercial,  of  Prague,  34,  52 

of  Vienna,  3,  34 
Accounting,  140,  141 

Acland,  A.  H.  D.,  and  Smith,  H.  L.,  work 
on  "Studies  in  Secondary-  Education," 
by,  207 
Aiui^-Girard,  M.,  57 
Algebra,   arithmetic  and  geometry,    143, 

144 
American  Bankers'  Association,  committee 
on  schools  of  finance  and 
economy    of,    executive 
council  of,  ii 
efforts  of  the,  xv 
promotion  of  sound  financial 
education  by  the,  xxi 
Antwerp  Superior  Institute  of  Commerce, 
16S-186 
administration  of  the,  180 
alumni  association  of  the, 

182-186 
council  of  improvement 

of  the,  180 
diploma  of  the,  178,  179 
discipline  at  the,  180 
entrance  examination  for 

the,  171 
examinations  at  the,  176 

-178 
faculty  of  the,  18  r 
foundation  and  develop- 
ment of  the,  168.  169 
general  considerations  re- 
garding the,  181,  182 
government  of  the,  170 
inspection  of  the,  180 
matriculation  at  the,  170, 

171 
obser\-ations  on    the   in- 
struction in   the,    175, 
176 
Ijrogram,    methods,    dis- 
tribution  of  the   time 
at  the,  171-175 
receipts  and  expenses  of 

the,  i8r 
scholarships  of  the,  169, 

170 
statistics  of  the  pupils  at 

the,  169 
subsidies  to  the,  169 
traveling  scholarships  of 

the,  179,  180 
vacations  at  the,  1 7 1 


Apprentice   system,    old,    break   down   of 

the,  xvii 
Arenz,    K.,  address  of  thanks  to,   by  the- 
Commercial  Council  of  Prague^  4?,. 

43 
quotations  from  the  address  of„  37'-4T 
Arithmetic,   algebra   and   geometrj',.   143, 

144 
Art,  collection  to  illustrate  the  history  of, 
of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Academy,  29- 
Austria,  curricula   of    higher  commercial 
institutions  in,  2 
establishment     of     commercial     ax:a>' 

demies  in,  i,  2 
general  remarks  on  commercial  edu- 
cation in,  51,  52 
higher     commercial    instruction     in. 
1-52 

schools  in,  xix. 
history  of  mercantile  instruction  in, 

I,  2 
influence  of  the  establishment  of  the 
Commercial  Academy  of  Prague  in, 

principal  commercial  institutions  of, 

3-52 
regulation  of  commercial  instruction 
in,  2 
Authorities,  list  of,  consulted,  220-223 
Aynaerick,   Dr.,   on  methods  of  training, 
164 

Baccalaureate  pupils,  133 
Bachelors,  131 
Bachheibl,  J.,  35 

Belgian  I'niversity  of  Commerce,  168 
Belgium,  disregard  for  commercial  instruc- 
tion in,  181 
higher     commercial     instruction    in. 

168-186 
population  of,  182 
traveling  .scholarships  in,  127 
Blackie,   \V.   G.,  quotations  from  an  ad- 
dress on  commercial  education  by,  208- 
213 
Blanche,  A.,  66 
Blanqui,  A..  55,  56 

Bohemia,  address  to  the  merchants  of,  for 
the  establishment  of  a  commercial  .school 
in  Prague,  35 
Bordeaux,    Pliilomathic    Society   of,    sub- 
.sidies  to,  127 
superior  school  of  commerce  of,  125, 
126,  136,  137 
Brodard,  M.,  53,  55 
Buildings,  pictures  of,  ix-xiv 


(225) 


Busch,   establishment  of  an  Academy  of 

Commerce  in  Hamburg  by,  157 
Business  classes,  social  estimate  set  on  the, 
in  Europe,  xix 
failures  in,  xviii 
Butler,  George  A.,  ii 
Buying  and  selling,  art  of,  147,  148 

Cambridge,    examination  for   commercial 

certificates  at,  200 
Certificates,  67,  87,  198-207,  214 
Chaptal,  M..  55 

Chrudim,  commercial  academy  in,  2 
Coe,  George  S.,  ii 
Coins,  collection  of,  27,  28,  47 
Colleges,  commercial,  xv 
Commerce,  Academy  of,  in  Hamburg,  157 

chambers  of,  in  Saxony,  156 

development  of,  195 

German,  demoralization  of,  152 

history  of,  151 

oblige.  73 

science  of,  63 

Special  School  of,  at  Paris,  53 

Superior  Institute  of,  at  Antwerp,  168- 
186 
School  of,  at  Bordeaux,  125,  126, 

136,  137 
at  Havre,    125,   126,  127,  136, 

137 
at  Lyons,  125,   126,    127,  136, 

137 
at   Marseilles,   125,    126,    136, 

137 
at  Pans,  53-75 
at    Rouen,  125,  126,  127,  136, 

137 
at  Venice,  187-193 
Commercial  academies,establishment  of,  in 
Austria,  i,  2 
Academy  of  Vienna,  3-34 

of  Prague,  34-52 
and  industrial  economy,  142 

etjuipment,  study  of,  146,  147 
excursions,  65 
geography,  145,  146 
technology,  147 
visits,  154 
and  technical  education,  195 
certificates,  198,  207 

examination    for,   at   Cambridge, 

2CX) 

at  Oxford,  200,  201 
papers  set  in  examination  for,  201- 

207 
scheme   of  subjects   of  examina- 
tion for,  199,  20Q 
colleges,  XV 

education,  adequate  reason  for,  in  the 
United  vStates,  xxi 
German,  causes  of  the  success  of, 

213,  214 
in    Austria,  general    remarks  on, 

5'.  52 
in  Englanil,  xx 


Commercial  education,  notes  on,  207-220 
report   on,  by  J.   J.  Findlay, 
213-218 
in  Europe,  xv-xxi 
inadequacy    of    the    gymnasium 

and  real  school  to  supply,  34 
need  of,  34 
quotations  from  an  address  on,  by 

W.  G.  Blackie,  208-213 
remarks  by  A.  T.  Pollard  on,  207, 
208 
high  school,  advantages  of  a,  xviii 

curriculum  of  a,  xxi 
high  schools  and   schools  of  finance 
and  economy,   desirability 
'  of,  xxd 

method    of   organizing,    xvi, 
xvii 
Institute,   establishment  of  a,   by  the 
Leipsic  Merchant  Guild,  34,  35 
Public,  at  Leipsic,  156-167 
institutions,  principal,  of  Austria,  3-52 
instruction,  advantages  and   need  of, 
xvii 
criticism  of,  in  Italy,  192 
development  of  the  moral  quali- 
ties by,  139 
disregard  for,  181 
higher,  in  Austria,  1-52 
in  Belgium,  168-186 
in  England,   194-220 
in  France,  53-155 
in  Germany,  156-167 
in  Italy,  187-193 
spirit  of,  in  France,  136,  137 
utility  of,  183 
law,  150,  151 
morality,  153,  154 

schools,  best  time  of  life  for  students 
to  enter,  41 
higher,  of  France,  comparison  of 

the  programs  of  the,  135-137 
in  Holland,  xx 
in  Russia,  xx 

of  France,   age  of  admission   to 
the,  131 
appeal    to   establish   scholar- 
ships in  the,  129,  130 
comparative  table  of  expenses 

of  the,  135 
constitution  of  the,  125 
councils  of  the,  125,  126 
critical    examination   of    the 
actual    programs   of   study 
in  the,  140-155 
<liplomas  of  the,  134 
duration  of  studies  in,  130,  131 
foreign  pu])ils  at  the,  133 
groups  of,  125 
notes  on  the,  125-155 
number  of  pupils  at  the,  131- 

•33 
professors  in  the,  134 
resident  pupils,  lvalf-l)oarders 

and  day  pupils  at  the,  133 


227 


Coniinercial  schools,  rewards  in  the,  133 
schohirships  of  the,  126 
status  of  bachelors  in  the,  13 1 
subsidies  to,  126,  127 
traveUng  scholarships  of  the, 
127-129,  133 
organization  of,  3S 
puq^ose,    function    and    int-d    of, 

37.  3,^ 
sciences,  licentiates  in  the,  178,  179 
vStudies,  higher,  discussions  on,  76,  77 
questions  regarding,  77 
School  of,  at  Paris,  75-124 
training,  xix 
Conference  Adolph  Blaiu^ui,  75 
Conferences,  150 
Cunin-Gridaine,  M.,  60 
Curriculum,  xxi,  4,  5,  6,  12-19,  3^1  44,  45, 

84,  160,  i6i 
Czedik,  A.,  6 

Dechainps,  M.  A.,  16S 

Deligny,  M.,  74,  75 

Deniere,  M.,  57 

Deodati,  H.,  187 

Desgrands,  M.  h.,  nionagraph  by,  77 

Detre,  N.,  74 

Dietz-Monnin,  M.,  88 

Diplomas,  67,  87,  134,  178,  179 

Drasche,  K.,  3 

Drawing,  151 

Duconimun,  Mr.,  report  of,  218 

Dupui,  C,  55 

Ecole  Blanqui,  56 

Economy,  commercial  and  industrial,  142 

political,  151,  152 

private,  142,  143 

Education,    adequate  commercial,   reason 
for,  in  the  United  States,  xxi 
commercial,    in  Austria,   general    re- 
marks on,  51,  52 
in  England,  xx 

notes  on,  207-220 
report  on,  by  J.  J.  I'ind- 
lay,  213-218 
inadequacy    of    the    gymnasium 

and  real  school  to  supply,  34 
need  of.  34 
quotiitions  from  an  address  on,  b\- 

W.  G.  Rlackie,  208-213 
remarks  by  A.  T.  Pollard  on,  207, 
208 
German    commercial,     causes    of  the 

success  of.  213,  214 
mediiEval  idea  of,  xvii 
professional  need  of.  xvii 
sound  financial,  promotion  of,  by  the 
American  Bankers'  Association,  xxi 
technical  and  commercial,  195 
E<lucational  system,  first  aim  of  an,  xviii 
E;iocution,  150 

England,     backwardness    of    connnerci;d 
instruction  in,  194,  208,  209. 
cause  of  educational  deficiences  in,  210 


ICngland,  commercial  certificates  in,  \gS~ 
207 
education  in,  xx 

notes on,  207-220 
higher  commercial  instruction  in,  194- 

220 
opinions  of  merchants  regarding  the 
state  of  commercial  education  in, 209 
papers  set   in    examination    for   com- 
mercial certificates  in,  201-207 
technical  instruction  act  in,  216 
luirope,  commercial  education  in,  xv-x\i 
influence  of  the   military   system   in, 

XX 

social    estimate   set   on    the    luisiness 
classes  in,  xix 
European  schools,  character  of  xix 
Examination  and  prize  schemes,  failure  of 

the,  215,  216 
Examinations,  60,  61,  66,  67,  85,  86,    171, 

176,  178,  191,  199,  207,  214 
Exercise,  bodily,  154 

Feller,  Dr.,  158 

Finance    and     economy,     desirability     of 
schools  of,  xvi 
and   economy,  schools    of  coinmiltee 
of  executive  council.  American 
Bankers'  Association  on,  ii 
Wharton  school  of,  xv 
Findlay,  J.  J.,  report  on  connnercial  edu- 
cation in  England  by,  213-218 
Florence,  superior  institute  for  philological 

and  philosophical  studies  at,  187 
Focillon,  M.,  78 

France,  commercial    schools   of,  notes  on 
the,  125-155 

disregard  for   commercial  instruction 

in,  181 
higher  commercial  instniction  in,  53- 

155 
.schools  in.  xix. 
regulations  relating  to  traveling  .schol- 
arships in,  128,  129 
spirit   of  commercial    in.slnKtion   in, 
'.^6,  137 
I'rary,  M.  Rauell,  on  geography,  145.  146 
P'rench    commercial    schools,    increase   in 
attendance  at,  xix. 

Gage,  Lvman  J.,  ii 

(kiriel.  Dr.,  66 

(iarnier,  J.,  56,  73,  193 

Genoa,  naval  nonnal  school  at.  187 

Geographical  cabinet  of  the  Vienna  Com.- 

mercial  Academy,  28.  29 
Geography  and  statistics,  importmue  of, 

.    •^^      . 

indu.strial  and  commercial.  145,  146 

Geometrv,    arithmetic   and    algebra.     143, 

144 

German  commerce,  demoralization  of,  152 

trade,  advance  of  197 

Gemiany,  higher  commercial  instruction 

in,  156-167 


228 


Germany,  higher  commercial  schools  in, 
xix 
superiority  of  commercial  schools  in, 

211 

theoretical  versus  practical  instruction 
in,  164,  165 

Ger%-ais  de  Caen,  M.,  56,  57,  75 

■Geyer  Commercial  School,  2 

Glasser,    Prof.    Book,     on    "  Commercial 
Education  in  Austria,"  by,  52,  156 

Gotha,  school  for  apprentices  in  commer- 
cial houses  in,  157 

Grandgaignage,  M.,  letter  from,  129,  181 

Gratz,  commercial  academy  in,  2 

Grelley,  M.  J.,  58 

extract  from  an  address  of,  72,  73 

Guibal,  M.,  76 

Gymnasium,  inadequacy  of  the,  tosupph* 
commercial  education,  34 

llalla,j.,  35 

Hamburg,  Academj-  of  Commerce  in,  157 

Hammer,  C.  L.,  157 

Hauke,  F.,  6 

Havre,  superior  school   of  commerce  of, 

125,  126,  127,'  136,  137 
Hielard,  M.  L.,  88 
Holland,  conmiercial  schools  in,  xx 
Hornbostle,  T.,  3 
Huette,  M.,  76 
Huret,  M.,  89 

Industrial  and  commercial  economy,  142 
equipment,  study  of,  146,  147 
excursions,  65 
geography,  145,  146 
technology,  147 
visits,  154 
Innspruck,  commercial  academy  in,  2 
Instruction,  commercial,  advantages   and 
need  of,  xvii 
commercial  criticism  of,  in  Italy,  192 
development  of  the  moral  quali- 
ties by,  139 
disregard  for,  181 
utility  of,  183 
♦listribution  of  subjects  of,  20-27,  4^> 

64,  160,  174 
liigher  commercial,  in  Austria,  1-52 
in  Belgium,  168-186 
in  England,  194-220 
in  France,  53-155 
in  Gennany,  156-167 
in  Italy,  187-193 
Tneans  of,  at  the   Prague   Commercial 

Academy,  47 
method  of,  in  the  Prague  Commercial 

Academy,  43 
mercantile,  history  of,  in  Austria,!,  2 
observations  on  the,  in   the   Antwerp 
Superior  Institute  of  Conunerce,  175, 

■orgaui/ation    of   the,    at    the   Prague 

Commercial  Academy,  46,  47 
public,  in  Italy,  law  reorganizing,  187 


Instruction,  theoretical  and  practical,  rela- 
tive value  of,  137-140 

Italj-,  criticism  of  commercial  instruction 
in,  192 
higher  commercial  instruction  in,  187- 

193 
law  reorganizing  public  instruction  in, 
187 

Jacquemart,    M.,  report   of,    on   traveling 

scholarships,  127,  128 
James,  E.  J.,  addresses  of,  xv 

invitation  to,  to  visit  Europe,  xv,  xvi 
Jourdan,  M.,  88,  89 

Kindt,  M.  J.,  180 

Krakau,  polytechnic  institute  in,  2 

Laboratories,  28,  29,  47 
Lafitte,;.,  55 
Lafitte,   P.,  73 
Language,  French,  14S 
Languages,  foreign,  149 
Law,  commercial,  150,  151 

school,  training  of  a,  xviii 
Le  Coeuvre,  M.,  66 
Le  Roy,  Rene,  75 
Leautey,  remarks  on  the  Institute  of  Leip- 

sic  by,  164 
Lectures,  list  of,  8,  9 
Legislation,  150,  151 
Legret,  M.,  53,  55 
Leipsic  Merchant  Guild,  156 

establishment  of   a  commer- 
cial institute  by  the,  34,  35 
Public  Commercial  Institute  at,  156- 

admission    to    the,    159, 

160,  161 
apprentice  department  of 

the,  159,  160,  162 
changes  in    the  curricu- 
lum of  the,  165,  166 
curricula  at  the,  160,  161 
extract  from   the   report 

of  the  Director  of,  162- 

164,  166 
government  of  the,  159 
professional  courseof  the, 

161 
program  and  methods  at 

the,  164-167 
provisions  relating  to  the 

various  departments  of 

the,  159-164 
puqiose  of  the,  159 
receipts  and  expenses  of 

the,  167 
second  or  higher  division 

of  the,  160,  162 
statistics  of  pupils  at  the, 

150 
tuition  at  the,  160 
Lembcrg,  Polytechnic  Institute  in,  2 
Leyasseur,  M.,  66 


229 


Library  of  the  Vienna  Commercial  Acad- 
emy, 29 
Licentiates   in    the   commercial    sciences, 

178,  179 
Linz,  commercial  academy  in,  2 
Liverpool  College,  207 

Institute,  207 
London   Chamber  of   Commerce,  scheme 
of  subjects  of   examinations,  issued  by 
the,  199,  200 
Loos,  M.,   168 
Lowry,  Prof.,  207 
Lub1x)ck,  Sir  J.,  194 
Luzzati,  L. ,  187 

Lyons,  National  Society  of  Education  at, 
questions  regarding  higher  commer- 
cial studies  proposed  by  the,  77 
superior  school  of  commerce  of,  125, 
126,  127,  136,  137 

McMichael,  Morton,  ii 

Magne,  31.,  60 

Magnus,   Sir  P.,  on  mercantile  training, 

194 
Manufacturer,   position  of   the,   after   the 

French  revolution,  183 
Marchand,  L.,  55 
Marine  equipment,  148 
Marseilles,  Superior  School   of  Commerce 

of,  125,  126,  136,  137 
Matthyssens,  Dr.,  monograph  bv,  168 
Matthyssens,  M.  H.,  168 
Mechanics,  151 
Medals,  67 

^lercantile  career,  training  needed  for   a, 
196 

success,  195 

training.  Sir  P.  Magnus  on,  194 
Dr.  Percival  on,  194,  195 
Merchant,  necessity  of  training  the,  39,  40 

position  of  the,  after  the  French  Rev- 
olution,  183 

qualities  of  a,  72,  73 

real  specific  activity  of  the,  40 

social  position  of  the,  38 
INIichau,  ISL,  78 
INIignon,  M.,  58 

Milan,  Superior  Technical  Institute  at,  187 
IMonnier  des  Taillades,  M.,  55 
INIorals,  152-154 
IVIiihlhausen,  school  at,  136 
ISIurman,  P.,  3 
Music,  154 

Naples,  school  of  application  for  engineers 

at,  187 
Natural  and  physical  sciences,  151 

Odenuan,  K.  G.,  158 

Ohligs,  R.W.,  proposition  by,  to  establish 
a  general  mercantile  institute  in  Vienna, 

3 

O.-itendorp,  M.,  168 

O.Kford,  examination  for  commercial  certi- 
ficates at,  200,  201 


Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  course  of 
accounting,  subsidies  to  the,  127 
commercial  in.stitute  of,  125 
subsidies  to,  127 
scholarships  of,  1 26 
commercial  school  of,  subsidies  to  the, 

127 
free  school  of  political  science  in,  xx. 
Oriental    Athenieum,    di.scussion    re- 
garding higher  commercial  studies 
in  the,  76,  77 
School  of  Higher  Commercial  Studies, 

75- '24 

administration  of 
the,  88 

association  of  the 
former  graduates 
of  the,  91 

board  and  tuition  at 
the,  81 

budget  of  the,  88,  89 

clas.sification  of  pu- 
pils at  the,  86 

curriculum  of  the, 
84 

development  of  the, 

.79 

diplomas  and  certifi- 
cates of  the,  87 

discipline  at  the,  87 

distribution  of  the 
hours  at  the,  84 

examinations  at  the, 
.85,  86 

history  of  the  foun- 
dation and  de- 
velopment of  the, 

75-79 
instruction  at  the,  82 
marks  at  the,  86 
normal  course  at  the, 

83.  84 
official    program    of 

the  courses  of  the, 

91-124 
organization   of  the, 

81 
preparatorv    schools 

of  the,  8'3 
program    of   studies 

at  the,  82,  83 
punishment    at  the, 

87 
purpose  of  the,  78 
receipts  and  expenses 

at  the,  88,  89 
rewards  at  the,  87 
scholarships   of  the, 

80,  81,  126 
situation   of  the,  78, 

79 
table  of  examinations 
held,    and    marks 
to  be  obtained  in 
the, 100 


230 


Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  vacations  at 

the.  8i 

special  school  of  commerce  at,  53 

Superior  School  of  Commerce,  53-75 

administration  of  the,  69 

alumni  association  of  the, 

73-75 
attendance  at  the,  59 
>x)ard  and  tuition  at  the, 

61 
budget  for  1886  of  the.  69 
commercial    and    indus- 
trial excursions  by  the 
pupils  of  the,  65 
conditions   of  admission 
to  the  competitive  ex- 
amination of  the,  60 
da}'  pupils  at  the,  61 
diplomas,  certificates, 
and  medals  of  the,  67 
distribution  of  studies  at 

the,  64 
division  or  offices  of  the, 

61-63 
essay's  by  pupils  of  the,  65 
examinations  at  the,  60, 

61,  66,  67 
financial     condition     of 

the,  69 
general  discipline  at  the, 

67-69 
general  considerations  of 

the,  70-73 
historv'  of  the  foundation 
and    development    of 
the,  53-59 
instruction  at  the,  61-65 
penalties  at  the,  69 
personnel  of  the,  70 
program  of  the  course  of 
study  in  the  third  }ear 
at  the,  62,  63 
regulations  of  the,  61 
sale  of  the,  to  the  Paris 
Chamberof  Commerce, 
58 
scholarships  of  the,  60 
subsidy  to  the,  60,  127 
summary    of    the    char- 
acteristics of  the,  73 
table    to    determine   the 
classification  of  a  pupil 
at  the,  66,  67 
traveling  scholarship  of 
the,  65 
Passy,  F.,  66 
Pathicr,  M.,  75 
Patx-elt  Commercial  vSchool,  2 
Pclleport,  M.  L.,  S5 
Penalties,  69,  87,  191 
I'ennianship,  145 
I'en.sions  anfl  salaries,  51 
Percival,  Dr.,  on  mercantile  training,  194, 

195 
P^rier,  C,  55 


Pesth,  commercial  academy  in,  2 

Phvsical  and  natural  sciences,  151 

Piault,  M.,  58  ^ 

Pleschner,  C,  35,  36 

Political  economy,  151,  152 

Pollard,    A.    T.,  remarks    on    commercial 

education  by,  207,  208 
Poux-Franklin,  M.,  55 
Prague,    address  of  thanks   by  the   com- 
mercial council  of,  to  K.  Arenz,  42,  43 
address  to  the  merchants  of  Bohemia 
for  the  establishment  of  a  commer- 
cial school  in,  35 
Bohemian  academy  in,  2 
Commercial  Academy,  2,  34-52 
attendance  at  the.  42,  50 
budget  of  the,  49 
classes  of  pupils  at  the,  43 
constitution   of  the   instruct- 
ing bod}-  of  the,  43 
course   of  railroading,  postal 
and    telegraph    service    at 
the,  44,  45 
distribution  of  hours  and  sub- 
jects at  the,  48 
evening  lectures  at  the,  42 
examination  in  the,  43,  44 
exercises  in  speaking  at  the, 

42,  43 
faculty  of  the,  50,  5 1 
financial  control  of  the,  44 
foundation  of  the,  34-41 
historj'    of    Ihe,   from    1856- 

1872,  42-45 
influence  of  the,  41 
means  of  instruction  at  the, 

47 
method  of  instruction  in  the, 

43 

one-year  course  at  the,  49 

organization  of  the  instruc- 
tion at  the,  46,  47 

privileges  connected  with  the 
certificate  of  graduation 
from  the,  47 

proposed  curriculum    of  the, 

purpose  and  present   organi- 
zation of  the,  45,  46 
salaries  and  pensions  paid  by 

the.  51 
statistics  of  the,  48,  49,  50 
tuition  in  the,  44 
polytechnic  .school  in,  i 
Sunday-school     for     c  o  ni  m  t-  r  c  i  a  1 
branches  in,  35,  36 
Products,  raw  and  manufactured.  147 
Professors,  134 

Pupils,  61,  81,  131-133,  159,  169,  188 
Railroads,  .study  of,  146,  147 
Real  school,  inadecpiacy  of  the,  to  supply 

commercial  education,  34 
Reims,  coiiimtrcial  .school  at,  125 
Rhawn,  William  II.,  ii 
preface  by,  iii 


2;u 


Ricard,    'M.,  (luotation    from  a  report  by, 
21  I 

Rogier,  M.,  i68 

Rouen,  Society  for  the  Technical  Instruc- 
tion of  Women,  subsidies  to  the,  127 
Superior  School  of  Commerce  of,  125, 
126,  127.  136,  137 
Rouvier,  M.,  75,  77 
Roy,  M.   G.,  76.  77,  S8 

extract  from  an  address  of,  72,  82,  90 
Russia,  commercial  schools  in,  xx 

St.  Quentin  and  I'Aisne,  Industrial  Society 

of,  subsidies  to,  1 27 
Salaries  and  pensions,  5 1 
vSalmon,  M.,  58 
Samuelson.  Sir  B.,  on   ecUication  in  Kng- 

land,  209 
Saxony,  chambers  of  commerce  in,  156 
Say,  J.'  B.,  55 
Say,  L..  77 
Schey,  F..  3 
Schiebe,  D.  A.,  157,  158 
Schmitt,  H.,  work  by,  on  connnercial  e<lu- 

cation  in  Germany,  156 
Sc'holarships,    29,  30,  60,    8(j,  Si,    126,  127, 
129-131,    133,    169,    170,    179,    180,    189, 
217 
School,  commercial  high,  advantage  of  a, 
xviii 
curriculum  of  a,  xxi 
law,  training  of  a,  xviii 
of    Higher    Commercial     vStudies    at 

Paris,  75-124 
real,    inadequacy    of    the,    to    supjjlv 

connnercial  education,  34 
Superior,  of  Comtnerce,  at  Bordeaux, 
125,  126,  136,  137 

at  Havre,    125,   126,  127,  136, 

137 
at  Lyons,   125,   126,  127,  136, 

137 
at  Marseilles,    125,    126,    136, 

137 
at  Rouen,   125,  126,  127,  136, 

137 

at  Paris,  53-75 

at  Venice,  187-193 
Schools,  commercial,  best  time  of  life  for 
students  to  enter,  41 

high,  desirability  of,  xvi 

method   of  organizing,    xvi, 
xvii 
of   I'rance,   age  of  admission    to 
the,  131 

appeal    to   establish    scholar- 
ships in  the,  129,  130 

baccalaureate   pupils  at  the, 

133 
comparative  table  of  expenses 

of  the,  T35 
coinparison  of  the  programs 

of^the,  135-137 
constitutioii  of  the,  125 
ccnmcils  of  the,  125,  126 


vSchools,  commercial,  of  I"' ranee,  critical 
examination  of  the  actual 
programs  of  study  of  the, 

140-155 
diplomas  of  the,  134 
duration   of   the   studies   in, 

130,  13' 
groups  of,  125 
notes  on  the,  125-155 
number  of  pupils  at  the,  131- 

133 
professors  in  the,  134 
resident  pupils,  lialf-lxjarders 

and  day  pupils  at  the,  133 
rewards  in  the,  133 
scholarshij)s  of  the,  126 
status  of    bachelors    in    the, 

131 
subsidies  to  the,  126,  127 
traveling  scholarships  of  the, 
127-129,  133 
of  Holland,  xx 
of  Russia,  XX 
organization  of,  38 
j)urpose,    function   and   need   of, 

37.  3« 
European,  character  of,  xix 
French  commercial,  attendance  at,  xix 
German  polytechnic,  courses  in  busi- 
ness in,  xix 
higher  commercial,  in  Austria,  xix 
in  France,  xix 
in  Germany,  xix 
of  finance   and   economy,   committee 
on,    of   executive    council, 
American  Bankers'  Associ- 
ation, ii 
desirabilitv  of,  xvi 
Schwaebl^,  M.,  58 
Sciences,   commercial,   licentiates  in  the, 

178.  179. 
natural  and  physical,  151 
Selling  and  bujing,  art  of,  147.  148 
Seybl,  E.,  3 

Sheffield    Chamber  of    Commerce,  action 
of  the  committee  of,  214 
letter  from    Dr.   C.   Wolfrum 
to    the    secretary    of    the, 
218-222 
report  of  J.  J.  I'indlay  to  the, 
213-2 iS 
Siegfried,  J.,  78 

extract  from  the  report  of,  90 
.Statistics  and  geography,   importance  of, 
40 
of  attendance  at  the   Paris   Superior 

School  of  Commerce,  59 
of    jmpils   at   the    Antwerp    Superior 

Institute  of  Commerce,  169 
of  the  Prague  Connnercial  Academy, 

4''^.  49.  50 
Stein  house,  A.,  158 
Stenography,  145 

Strauss,  M.,  passages  from  a  dis<."ourse  of, 
182-1S4 


232 


study,  program  of,  62,  63,  82,  83,  91-124, 
171,  172,  189-191 

Targ^,  A.,  77 

Tariffs,  study  of,  146,  147 

Technical  and  commercial  education,  195 

Technology,    commercial   and   industrial, 

147 
Teman,  M.,  55 

Thierey-Mieg,  M.,  on  geograph\-,  145 
Trade,  German,  advance  of,  197 

wholesale  and  retail,  training  for,  162, 
163 
Trieste,   Commercial  and  Nautical  Acad- 
emy in,  2 
School  of  Navigation  in,  2 
Turin,  Italian  Industrial  Museum  at,  1S7 

United  States,  desirability  of  commercial 

high    schools    and    schools    of 

finance   and   economy   in   the, 

x\-i 
necessity  of  commercial  education 

in  the,  iii 
reason  for  adequate   commercial 

education  in  the,  xxi 
spirit  of   routine   and  formalism 

in  the  public  school  system  of 

the,  xvii 

Venice,    Superior    School   of    Commerce, 

1 87,  193 
admittance  to  the,  18S 
attendance  at  the,  188 
character  of  the,  187,  18S 
examinations  at  the,  191 
general  considerations  re- 
garding the,  192,  193 
general  programs  of  the 
courses  at  the,  189-191 
government  of  the,   188, 

192 
instruction  at  the,  189 
means    of    discipline    at 

the,  191 
personnel  of  the,  192 
receipts  and  expenses  of 

the,  192 
scholarships  at  the,  1S9 
subsidies  to  the    188 
tuition  at  the,  188 
Vienna   Academic    Conmiercial   Interme- 
diate School,  curriculum 
of  the,  for  1876,  6,  7 

reorganization   of 
the,  10 
association  for  the  establishment  of  a 
higher  commercial  institution  in,  3 


Vienna  Commercial  Academy,  3-34 

aid   granted  to   students   by 

the,  33 
assistance  fund  of  the,  30 
attendance  at  the,  30,  31,  32 
budget  of  the,  31 
building  of  the,  31 
collections  of  the,  27-29 
constitution  and  goveniment 

of  the,  4 
curriculum  of  the,  for  1871-72,. 

4,  5 
development    and    organiza- 
tion of  the,  1877-1893,  10-13 
distribution  of  subjects  of  in- 
struction in  the,  20-27 
emploj-ment  for  graduates  of 

the,  30 
expenses  of  the,  31 
faculty  of  the,  33,  34 
one-^ear  course  of  the,  12,  13 
pension  fund  of  the,  31 
pupils  in  the,  11,  12 
receipts  of  the,  30 
remission  of  tuition   by  the, 

reorganization  of  the,  6,  10 
requirements    for    admission 

to  the,  10 
statistics  relating  to  students 

at  the,  32,  33 
subjects  of  instruction  in  the, 

II 
synopsis  of  curriculum  in  the 
one  and  three-year  courses 
in  the,  13-19 
textbooks  used  in  the,  14,  15, 

16,  17,  18 
three-year  course  of  the,  10- 

12 
traveling  scholarship  fund  of 

the,  29,  30 
tuition  in  the,  10,  1 1 
High  School,  courses  of  instruc- 
tion in  the,  8,  9 
institution  of  the,  6,  7 
Corporation  Commercial  School  in,  2 
Geyer  Commercial  School  in,  2 
Patzelt  Commercial  vSchool  in,  2 
pohtechnic  school  in,  2 
Real-Handlungs  Academy,  i 
real  school,  i ,  2 

\Vharton  School  of  Finance  and  Kcoiiomy, 

XV 

Wolfrum,  C,  15S,  159 

letter  from,  21S-220 
Wormell,  Dr.,  215 


IJNIV  IFORNMJ 


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